The Divergent Empire
by SSj Masta
Summary: Somewhat AU. There are many futures and possibilities. This is one of them. The Imperium made an alliance at the end of the Horus Heresy. But will it be enough? Only time will tell and it is not on their side.
1. The Beginning

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warhammer. I wish I did but I don't. I am but a humble fan with an active imagination. **

**Author's Note: Before we jump into this, I will let you know that I DO NOT know every victory/battle or have every fact memorized. I have not gotten to read any of the codex made by game-workshop. I have however read much of the Warhammer 40k wiki and the lexicanum. So, I'm far from ignorant but not an expert by any means. Therefore, if I make a mistake, feel free to point it out and correct me. **

**Finally, if you can, no flames. I will take constructive critiques. Even if you don't like the story but have something you believe would improve it, tell me. Also, if you like the story, tell me why. Saying "Good job. Keep it up." is encouraging but not exactly helpful. I need t know what I did to make you like the story. **

**The Divergent Empire: Prologue **

There are an uncountable amount of futures, stretching out into infinity. This is one.

The change started long ago. During what was the Fall of the Eldar, in the weeks before the birth of Slaanesh, as the sane members of the once proud race sought refuge and escape in their Craftworlds, one faction or another decided that these "foolish" Eldar—the crews of Craftworlds, led by their Farseers—were a threat to "proper behavior". So a plan was hatched, and few doubt that the whispers in those dark, deranged minds came from the blackest depths of the Warp.

The conspirators blinded the Farseers of these ships by causing massive explosions on a number of the Eldar's own homeworlds, lighting entire continents ablaze. While the wizened leaders reeled from so many deaths, their insane brethren struck. In the end, most of the Farseers were killed and the Craftworlds fled in outrage and horror, with the rest of Eldar laughing at the clever and "justified" punishment given on their "stuffy" kin.

The Fall of the Eldar ended with the death of worlds. The birth of Slaanesh created the Eye of Terror and consumed the souls of majority of their numbers, even those who had wisely fled. Reeling at the vicious blows that had been delivered to them, the Craftworlds hid, and the remnants of Eldar seemed to vanish for thousands of years. In their self-opposed isolation, the Craftworlds rebuilt their civilization and amassed military forces. As they adjusted and planned ahead, alliances were made, disagreements broke out and while some banded together other left. However, each faction prepared all the same.

It was only later, in the wake of Slaanesh's birth and the warpstorms cleared, when an upstart race lead by the greatest psyker ever seen, did the Craftworlds find a reason to observe the rest of the galaxy. For ten thousand years, they watched as the Emperor of Mankind and his Great Crusade spread out into the galaxy, determined but ignorant of the True Enemy. As they watched, Farsser Eldrad Ulthran of Craftworld Ulthwe, felt the need to intervene. Perhaps, with the right guidance the humans could be prepared for the inevitable outbreak of Chaos. However, the Farseer's prodigious abilities sent to him a vision. He saw for only an instant, a future of where he intervened. Approaching a large silver-haired warrior in purple and gold armor, he was greeted with only arrogance and one who'd already become an unknowing pawn of enemy. Eldrad realized that he must go further. His intervention must be wisely timed and told to one who would listen.

That time would not come until the Horus Heresy. A saddened and repentant Emperor sits atop the Golden Throne. Even from Terra, he can feel the battles being waged. He can hear the laughter of Chaos as they undo all that he has wrought. He can feel the pain of his people as they wage against the forces of the Ruinous powers. Then, something different strays into his psychic senses. A message from one, Eldrad Ulthran. None know exactly what was said between the greatest of representations of Man and Eldar. What is known, however, was the coming result.

Several days later, the Master of Mankind would engage his fallen son, Hours. The battle was immense. Despite his greater experience and overall power, the Emperor holds back. Half of this action lies with the fact that he faces his closest son but the other half is far more pragmatic. The Emperor waits for the right moment. In the face of the onslaught Horus unleashes, the Emperor allows one blow to connect. Horus' blade forces itself deeply into the Emperor's stomach and the patron of order allows for his sword to fall from his hand. Horus gives a savage roar of triumph and his patrons howl with glee.

However, the Master of Mankind is not finished. With both arms free, he grasps Horus' arm in an iron grip. Golden light encompasses the two as the Emperor reaches into the warp through his son. Bring his full might of his immense psychic prowess to bear, the Emperor unleashed a psychic blast at the warp gods. The insidious entities cry out in agony and billions of their daemonic servants do the same as their presence in the materium and immaterium is utterly shattered. As the gods of Chaos pull away from their champion to safety, the Emperor reaches out and with his power grabs one: Slaanesh. With only power, will and judgment that he could hope to summon, the Emperor tears into the Prince of Pleasure. His attack is merciless, and cries the Emperor rapidly claws his into his hated foe's essence.

Then the Emperor pulls his power back into himself and with it, the very ethereal stomach of Slaanesh. Finally, the Chaos god breaks away cursing the Emperor as s/he retreats. The Emperor lets got of Horus' arm, the body of the Arch-Heretic crumbles, destroyed by the sheer presence of his father's power. The Emperor falls back, his body and soul slowly shattering from the sheer exertion of his feat. For all the mistakes, he has made at this point, he accomplished his pact with Eldrad. Upon this, space rippled as five Craftworlds and their fleets entered realspace. The sudden appearance of the largest alien fleet mankind had ever seen threw the traitors into disarray. In a display of glorious firepower, the traitor chapters are decimated and forced to flee.

Dying, the founder of the Imperium and Savior of Humanity is brought to the Golden Throne, so that he might yet be saved. Despite his crippled state, the Emperor is able to relay a last message. He speaks of his pact with the Eldar. After assimilating the stomach of Slaanesh, he now inherits all the souls of the Eldar who die from this point onwards. Their souls shall join with his for all eternity, safe and able to help him project his will. With such an influx of powerful souls, only select few will be needed to maintain the Astronomicon without him.

With the pact complete and their souls safe from She-Who-Thirsts, the Eldar pledge themselves to the preservation of humanity. The Imperium's goals are their goals, until Chaos itself is exterminated, as so that another such Slaanesh, can never arise again.

At first, the Eldar were treated little better than slaves, but with the Imperium in such a fractured state, the need of their power, knowledge, and technology quickly became apparent. As the centuries passed and the Imperium was brought back together, the Eldar were integrated into the Imperium, becoming a powerful faction. The alien race's status moved from hated/tolerated, to useful, to trusted ally. It was not too dissimilar to how the Imperium abhorred the mutant but valued the navigator. Even the Eldar's religion and various gods are accepted, not unlike the Adeptus Mechanicus' Cult of the Machine.

The Imperium has recovered and brought a sense of order back to the shifting galaxy. Though without nine Space Marine legions, they have gained much. Grav-vehicles are common now on many a world. Basic knowledge of Chaos is in the open, with average imperial citizen well versed in the signs of possible Chaos incursion. The Inquisition moves through the stars, using Eldar magic and human grit to fight the forces of Chaos and root out heretics. Psykers are found more quickly and trained to harness their powers with a higher degree of safety. Arbites fanatically hunt down and punish crimes of perversion, greed, sloth and hedonism. Farseers use the powers of divination to foresee attacks and assaults. The use of navigators have all but been phased out in the human fleets are practically unheard of due to the widespread use of Spider drives, allowing use of the Webway. However, warp-drive are still used in the instance of a location not being near a Webway gate.

The Imperium has also made it a goal to recover any Craftworld that will join them. In addition, many of the Maiden Worlds have been turned over to the Eldar, so that they may slowly raise their numbers. This also frees the Craftworlds, which have become either mobile factory worlds or moving fortresses for Aspect Shrines. Finally, the Imperium makes dangerous runs to Eldar Croneworlds, searching for lost secrets. Their ultimate goal is to rediscover the ability to create a Webway Nexus.

Despite all these advantages that have culminated on top of each other, it is not a golden age and the Imperium is still besieged.

Chaos attempts to wreak from within the Imperium and tries to batter downs her gates. The warp still festers with Slaanesh's rage over being humiliated by the Emperor and being denied the Craftworld Eldar's souls.

The Dark Eldar have fully committed themselves to destroying the Imperium. They look down on their former brethren for allying with a primitive species, which they perceive as a betrayal. This is compounded by the fact that the Craftworld Eldar are freed from the clutches of Slaanesh, but the Prince of Pleasure still continues to feast upon the Dark Eldar. In return, the Imperium regards them with hatred second only to Chaos, as the Dark Eldar continue the very actions that created a Chaos God and attempt use them forestall their judgment for such actions.

Orks continue to plague various worlds of the Imperium. The Orks are looked down upon as a crude plague with little right to the success they have achieved.

The Necron have started to awaken to reestablish the supremacy of their dynasties. They are motivated even further by the fear of the Eldar's power in the hands of Man.

The Tau are but a thorn in the Imperium's side. They push for alliance but seek to dominate the Imperium only to be rebuffed.

Tyranids are drawn by so much psychic activity in great numbers, consuming all in their path…

In the grimdarkness of the 41st Millennium there is only war…and a single sliver of hope.

**AN: Well that's the setup. Tell me what you think and how you feel. **

**Important fact: Eldrad never met Fulgrim = Fulgrim never virus bombed quite a few Maiden Worlds. **


	2. Maiden Worlds

**Well, it's good to see that there are people interested in this. I plan to model in a similar format to that of the fanfiction "Altered Heresy" by wacko12. Which, is made up of articles that show the various changes because the Horus Heresy does not occur to a series of events of events. **

**This is similar to that and I plan to do various articles with what has changed. They may be short, they maybe long. It just depends on what I'm writing about.**

**As such, if there's something you want to see, suggest it in a review. Same thing goes if you happen to have an idea for something original. **

**BIBOTOT:**** Thank you. I always wanted to see it, too, which I wrote this. **

**mr I hate znt nobles kill em: ****Thank you. As for the Arbites, I'll get to them eventually. **

**Benjyboy: ****Yeah, he did, but I saw it hadn't been updated in awhile or anything real extensive. Hence, I made my own. **

**Maiden Worlds **

_**Overview**_

Maiden Worlds, a.k.a _Lilaethan_, are lush, paradise worlds that were seeded by the Eldar thousands of years ago before the Fall. These beautiful worlds were originally barren and lifeless rocks. The process begins by introducing simple bacteria to create a stable atmosphere and the gradually more complex organisms were added to stabilize the bio-system of the planet. Eventually, in the distant future the world would be ready to colonize by the Eldar. Once the process began it was fairly self-sustaining but took thousands of years to complete.

_**Place in the Imperium**_

Originally, these worlds were to be used a paradise worlds or pleasure worlds for important Imperial servants. However, with the integration of the Eldar into Imperial society, many of these worlds have been turned over back to the Eldar, so that they may repopulate.

While some Imperial officials argued against this, they were countered with the fact that the Eldar could not simply be crowed into Hive Worlds without further issues arising. In addition, many Maiden Worlds were already located within heavily guarded sectors of Imperial space, ensuring security.

The worlds of the Eldar are rich in natural resources and, as such, some are agri-worlds with advanced horticultural cities. Others are devoted to industry and with advanced technology, are able to produce various goods and materials with reduced levels of pollution.

While these worlds are usually reserved for expanding or incoming Eldar populations, there are times when humans are allowed to live there as well.

_**Defense **_

In addition to various human forces and fleets, the Maiden Worlds have kept their Guardian forces.

Before their alliance with the Imperium of Man, the Eldar population was in decline and their Craftworlds beset on all sides by merciless enemies. As such, even Eldar who followed the civilian paths had to be trained and ready for warfare as Guardians. This tradition has carried on and Guardians are still in use, and can be counted to act competently in case of emergency.

**AN: Well, that's it for this little page. Short, I know, but there wasn't that much to work with. **

**If anyone has any form of requests or ideas, I'm all ears. Just leave it in a review. **


	3. The Tau Incident

**Hey there, everyone. Time for a new page in this little Codex. **

**Benjyboy: ****Thank you. **

**Guest "idea": ****Thank you for the idea. It's amazing how the Tau just slip under the radar. **

**Guest "feudalism": ****Yes, it is **

**Guest "aliens": ****I'd imagine that while Eldar Farseers could predict quite a bit, even they can't foresee everything. However, the Eldar's presence has refined the Imperium's methods. They still do exterminate races, it's just that they could do it indirectly. Ex: Farseer predicts Ork Waaagh! and the Imperium amasses a defense and diverts it towards the Tau. **

**mr I hate znt nobles kill em: ****You might like this.**

**The Tau Incident**

_**Overview **_

The Tau Incident is labeled as such due to the results of the Tau Empire's attempted expansion into the in the Eastern Fringe of Imperial space. This is noted to be the first military altercation between the Imperium and the Tau.

**First Contact **

The Imperium made contact with the Tau in 712 M.41 when the Tau's Water Caste attempted to forge trade agreements with the Imperial Worlds on the borders of the region called the Damocles Gulf in the Ultima Segmentum. While an isolated region, the worlds of the Gulf were rather well off. They were not shining examples of the Imperium's best, however, these worlds, bearing populations of both Man and Eldar, were efficient, able to meet their tithes on time at acceptable levels and most importantly, loyal to the Imperium.

When the Tau attempted negotiation, they were met with a cool but edged response. At every turn, the Tau delegations were given the order to leave the planet or be exterminated. To say the least, the Tau were surprised at the hostility that greeted. They retreated from Imperial space and back to the Empire.

**First Battle**

Upon their return, the Water Caste reported of the Imperial worlds they had visited. The Ethereal cast was surprised that these seemingly isolated worlds had rejected their offers and even threatened them. More passionate members of the Fire Caste called for a war of conquest against these seemingly arrogant inhabitants. The Ethereals, who had wanted peace, decided to compromise. Instead of just forcing the worlds they had encountered to join them, they would pressure them using military force. When the detractors saw the power of the Tau Empire and what the Greater Good could accomplish, they would submit willingly. The Tau amassed a force of seven cruisers of their Air Caste.

However, the Imperium had not been idle in its action. Fearing the possibility of facing a military assault, no sooner had the Tau been forced off planet was the nearest Haven Spire been contacted. As the Eastern Fringe had always been plagued by Ork empires and pirate conclaves, various Haven Spire space stations had been built as bases for fleets who are to monitor and protect this region. It was such a fleet that greeted the Tau upon their return to Imperial space.

The Tau cruisers were greeted by a section of Lord Admiral Yriel's battlefleet, headed by Yriel himself. The force contained several Exorcist Grand cruisers, Oberon battleships and Eclipse class cruisers. The Tau were utterly caught off guard. The battle that in sued, was swift and brutal. While the range of the Tau's torpedoes caught the Imperial forces somewhat off guard, the Tau were ultimately decimated by long range bombardment from the Exorcist cruisers, combined ordnance, lances and weapons batteries o the Oberon battleships and the swiftness of the Eclipse cruisers and their forward Pulse Lances. Only one Tau cruiser was able to escape and contacted Yriel's ship.

The Tau that spoke with the Lord Admiral, was an Ethereal. He questioned as to why they would not join the Tau Empire and serve the Greater Good. The Ethereal spoke of how under the guidance of his caste, they could achieve greatness. The recording of Yriel's response is below:

"_Why would we, of the Imperium, follow you? Submit ourselves to you? You who, arrogantly thought that you could usurp our worlds? Do not insult us! You, who naively believe that every race is worth some thing. I will inform you now, only two races matter: the Eldar and Man. You have never faced the corrupting forces of Chaos, the unrelenting assault of the Necron, or the damnable Waaagh! of the Orks. And yet you think you can stand against us, who have faced all these enemies would and prospered. You dare assume that you would take the place of He on Terra! Mark my words, Tau, by the blood of Khaine, we WILL end you." _

With that the surving Tau retreated back behind their borders. As word reached other factions of the Imperium of the Tau's attempted expansion, outrage nearly spawned a crusade against them. However, many Farseers predicted a "great shadow in the Warp". While it was unknown what this was at the time, the Imperium pulled together was forces they could in preparation. Eldrad Ulthran himself believed that the "shadow" was still some time away. The Imperium was willing to wait however. This new threat would appear almost thirty years and become known as Hive Fleet Behemoth.

As for the Tau, they have not left their borders in sometime. It is unknown why this has occurred. Some hypothesis that in the face of the Imperium, the Tau are simply guarding their borders, waiting. Others believe that the Tau might be attempting to amass more forces. Whatever the reason, the Imperium stands at the ready, waiting for the Tau possible and, maybe, inevitable return.

**AN: Well, that cover the Tau for now. I think I might try my hand at the Inquisition. However, I'm still taking other ideas, if you, the readers offer them. **

**Good or bad? Tell me what you think people.**


	4. The Inquisition

**Guest(s): ****The Administratum is doing okay. It can still get bogged down, but almost all of its departments are vital and needed. The Imperium for a while didn't have new tech, however that has changed over the last couple thousand years. I'll bring that up when I get to Adeptus Mechanicus. But I will say they are having a field day. To Aun'va: Yeah, you have fun trying to that. (Calls Deathwatch when no one is looking.) The Harlequins appear on a number of Imperial worlds as performers but have known to aid Imperial forces when facing the likes of Chaos. The Imperial Navy and Guard are still separate. Also, there was no Imperial Guard during the Great Crusade. There was the Imperial Army that acted as reserve. The Great Crusade lasted around 200 years. It's a bit of an AU because many of the events over the last 10,000 years occurred but were altered by the presence of the Eldar. As for the Tau's tech, lips are sealed. The Sisters of Battle still exist. The Mechanicus have a ton of tech. With mutants and abhumans, the Imperium still gives them the boot it just also includes Navigators now. Why waste time with Biomancy on a doomed mutant when there are 'pure' Imperial citizens who need healing? Paradise Worlds still exist, it's just most of them are Eldar Maiden Worlds and are mostly given to Eldar population to rebuild. So there are vacation worlds, but they are few and are highly regulated. **

**mr I hate znt nobles kill em****: Definitely. However, I'm going to have such twist to that.**

**Benjyboy:**** Thank you. Yes, the Imperium does still use Space Marines. I just haven't mentioned them. Eldar Space Marines? Perhaps. More on that at the end of this chapter.**

**thesimpledaydreamer: ****Thanks. You're idea for the Inquisition is much appreciated. Heck, I'm drawing inspiration from it.**

**AlwaysBetOnVoid: ****More of a documentation. Warhammer 40K is huge! Hell, you can have an epic with just one character.**

**toby7400: ****I'll be honest, I don't know how to work that in. Trust me when I say, I know what it is I want to do but I don't where I would put the information.**

**OMAC001: ****Good question. I've got an idea behind it. All I will say is, not as much as you think.**

**Deathwatch Razgriz: ****I'll do my best to deliver.**

**The Inquisition **

_**Overview **_

The Holy Orders of the Emperor's Inquisition, more commonly known as the Inquisition, are a powerful organization, the secret police of the Imperium responsible for guarding its very soul. The purpose of the Inquisition is to identify and destroy the myriad of potential threats to the Imperium. The organization's members are agents known as Inquisitors. To be a member of the Inquisition is to be the involved in some of the most dangerous endeavors undertaken by the Imperium. As such, Inquisitors and their supporting personnel must be strong, adaptable, cunning and resourceful. They must combat horrors that will attempt rend their very minds and souls. Some would argue that the Inquisition is a ruthless organization that cares only for the end result. To some extent, they are not wrong. But truly, those of the Inquisition know that their duty is one of sacrifice. Their deals ensure that they are denied ignorance to the true nature of the galaxy and the comfort such a thing would bring. The only comfort they take is that through their duty, they serve the Emperor and through that service protect those the Emperor sacrificed so much to save.

**The Black Overseers**

While the Inquisition is autonomous of the standard administrative hierarchy of the Imperium, it has its own governing body. This shows itself as the Black Overseers. The Overseers is composed of several exceptional Inquisitorial Lords and notably Eldrad Ulthran, who is one of the most knowledgeable experts on Chaos, psychic abilities and the one to forge the Eldar's pact with the Emperor.

The Overseers review and look over virtually all the Inquisition's actions. Inquisitors are given much power and their actions or inactions can decide the fate of billions. Should an Inquisitor's actions upon inspection not be in line with the Inquisition's goals, naturally, they will be subjected to a fitting retribution. Few Inquisitors actually know the actual identities of the Black Overseers and their existence is unknown outside the Inquisition. This is due to a psychic process that all Inquisitors and others who might be privy to the Inquisition's inner workings are subjected to. The High Lord's only pipeline to the Inquisition is the Inquisitorial Representative whose orders come from the Black Overseers.

**Ordos Majoris**

The Inquisition is divided into a series of organizations known as Ordos. Each Ordo is responsible for assessing and combating a threat to humanity. There are three major Ordos devoted to combating threats Within, Without, and Beyond.

_**Ordo Malleus**_ - Known as the Daemonhunters, or the Order of the Hammer, the Ordo Malleus are sworn to defend the very soul of Mankind, concentrating on the defeat of those enemies of Humanity that dwell in the warp; the so-called "enemy beyond." They primarily concern themselves with destroying Daemons and other servants of Chaos. Inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus can be either Eldar or Man, however Eldar are preferred for their psychic nature. Known colloquially as Daemonhunters, the members of the Ordo Malleus are individuals of great strength of will, able to face the agents of Chaos without flinching. Due to the highly secretive nature of its mission and the great mental strength required to combat the forces of Chaos, the Ordo Malleus is by far the smallest Order of the Inquisition. The Ordo Malleus - besides being the Daemonhunters of the Imperium - is the secretive inner order of the Inquisition. It is controlled by a council of 169 Inquisitor Lords called Masters, whose authority extends even to the Master of the Inquisition. The Ordo's organisation is divided into Chambers, each controlled by an Inquisitor Lord called a Proctor. The number of Inquisitors in each Chamber can vary from a few score to hundreds.

_**Ordo Xenos**_ - Also known as the Alien Hunters, or the Order of the Aliens, the Ordo Xenos are dedicated to the defeat of the Xenos threat; the enemy without. They actively seek out and eliminate alien influence and corruption within the Imperium. Secretly, they are used by the Imperium to funnel the more fanatical members of the Imperium, whose resentment of xenos cause frictions with the Eldar, into a productive force for the Imperium. Naturally, all members of this force are human. Armed with the best human and xenos technology known, extremely knowledgeable about their foe, unflinching in their mission, the Ordo Xenos can respond to any possible xenos threat. Their tactics vary depending heavily on the situation, species of xenos involved, and level of xenos influence on the local population.

_**Ordo Hereticus**_ - This Ordo is also known as the Witch Hunters, or the Order of the Heretics. The Ordo Hereticus is the scourge of the traitor, the witch, Mutants, rogue Psykers and heretics. The interests of its members are aligned towards the combating of threats broadly classified as arising from within the great bulk of Humanity; the so-called "enemy within." Hereticus Inquisitors are the most feared members of the Inquisition, as their focus is on Mankind itself. The arrival of an Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor on a world is met with fear and awe, as no one but the Inquisitor himself knows where his attentions will fall. Hereticus Inquisitors tend to be human, mainly due to the Imperium's large human populace in relation to the Eldar's, despite the rather large recovery they have made.

**Ordos Minoris**

Subordinate to the Ordos Majoris are several smaller Inquisitorial organizations, known as the Ordos Minoris. These minor Ordos are significantly smaller than the main three, and are often formed to combat specific, rather than broad, threats to the Imperium. Most of these Ordos Minoris are largely unknown, even to other members of the Inquisition. Many are little more than cabals of Inquisitors allied against a common threat, while others are in essence specialised sub-Ordos. Other, nigh unknown Ordos might interest themselves in matters so esoteric or specialised they are entirely unknown to their fellows:

_**Ordo Chronos**_ - This mysterious and incredibly obscure Ordo was formed to investigate the potential ramifications of time travel through the Warp, particularly the potential for deliberate manipulation of this phenomenon. They have mysteriously disappeared. However, there is rumor that they have taken to the Webway, searching alongside the Harlequin to find the fabled area of the Webway to reverse time.

_**Ordo Militum**_ - This Ordo has the duty of monitoring the Imperium's military bodies, such as the Imperial Guard, the Imperial Navy, the Commissariat, the Sanctioned Psykers of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica, the Adeptus Astartes (although see below), and - together with the Ordo Hereticus - the Adepta Sororitas.

_**Ordo Obsuletus**_ - The Ordo Obsuletus' task is to monitor and validate unexplained phenomena and miracles said to have occurred across the Imperium. Since the Dark Gods, especially Tzeentch, are not above sacrificing whole hosts of their mortal servants to ensure that a plot comes to fruition, it is the duty of the Ordo Obsuletus to investigate whether a miracle is a genuine manifestation of the Emperor's will, or yet another convoluted xenos or Chaotic deception.

_**Ordo Sepulturum**_ - This Ordo is one of the smallest and newest of the Ordos Minoris, formed during the 13th Black Crusade. Their focus is the relatively new threat presented to the Imperium by the emergence of the Plague Zombies and the Nurgle-spawned Zombie Plague.

_**Ordo Sicarius**_ - This Ordo is tasked with investigating, moderating and controlling the Officio Assassinorum. Especially, the Culexus Temple.

**Chamber Militant**

Although an Inquisitor can employ the services of any branch of the Imperial service, including the military, each major Ordo also maintains a dedicated Chamber Militant representing the most dedicated, experienced, and effective forces that Ordo can call on.

The Ordo Malleus' Chamber Militant are the **Grey Knights. **FurtherInformation Classified.

The Ordo Hereticus' Chamber Militant are the **Adepta Sororitas,** also known as the Sisters of Battle. The Battle Sisters of the Adepta Sororitas are the mainstay of the Adeptus Ministorums armies. Equipped and trained to the highest Imperial standards, the Sisters of Battle specialize in waging Wars of Faith and purging heresy wherever it may be found.7 Because of this, its duties often overlap with the Ordo Hereticus of the Inquisition and as a result the Sisters of Battle maintain a close alliance with the Witch Hunters.

The Ordo Xenos' Chamber Militant are the **Deathwatch**. The Deathwatch are a unique and specially trained Space Marine Chapter that dedicates its every hour to xenos hunting. They are the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Xenos, charged with protecting it in its search of information, containment, and ultimate destruction of all xeno species.

**Philosophical Sects**

The Inquisition is broadly broken down into two schools of thought; that of the Radical and that of the Puritan. To the Radical "the ends justifies the means" in every instance, whether through the employ of Exterminatus, daemonhosts, or alien weaponry. By contrast, the Puritans adhere strictly to official Imperial political and religious doctrine and typically persecute their more unorthodox brethren when given the chance, as they are most concerned with maintaining the Imperium's status quo, even if it would've resulted in simply perpetuating a long period of technological and cultural stagnation.

_**Puritans**_

**Thorianism** - Thorians are members of the Inquisition who believe that the Emperor of Mankind will some day be reincarnated. This is the most "Radical" of the Puritan ideologies due to the possible galactic upheaval that could result should the Thorians actually be able to summon the Emperor into a new physical form, as Believers and Unbelievers in the reborn Emperor's divinity and identity then turn upon each other. Not to mention what would happen to the Eldar's souls after their death. As such, over the millennia the Thorians influence has slowly drained away.

**Codominance** - This philosophy holds that Man and Eldar can only survive in the galaxy through the death of every other intelligent creature. Codominants are arguably the most extreme of the Puritans and tolerate no deviation from the harshest and most conservative interpretations of the Imperial Creed.

**Amalathianism** - The conservative philosophy that absolutely dominates the Puritan faction of the Inquisition, Amalathians advocates for unity between Imperial organisations in the pursuit of the Emperor's will and for a careful moderation social and political change to improve the Imperial status quo. The Amalathians are thus the currently largest sect within the Inquisition. Amalathian Inquisitors oppose the Inquisition's division into political and philosophical factions and sects. Ironically, their idealism marks the Amalathians as their own faction in the Inquisition. It was at the birth of this philosophy, on the world of Gathalamor, at Mount Amalath, that Lord Solar Macharius was spurred on to his grand conquest of nearly a thousand new worlds for the Imperium.

_**Radicals**_

**Xanthism** - The most obviously Radical grouping within the Inquisition, Xanthites advocate the use of Warp-based weaponry, such as daemon-possessed swords, daemonhosts, and other tactics that will turn the power of Chaos against itself. This sect is harshly opposed and is considered borderline heretical. Note that, unlike other Inquisitors, only the rare openly Xanthite Inquisitors will be denied the use of the Grey Knights if they requisition them.

**Horusians** - A sub-sect of the Xanthites, this sect wishes to create a new leader for humanity, much like the Puritan Thorians. Both factions strive for a powerful, god-like figurehead to lead the Imperium into a new golden age. But the Horusians view the might of Horus as a wasted opportunity; they believe that should the limitless power of Chaos be harnessed and bound into a great leader of men, humanity could once more become united and crush all before it. Needless to say, even other open-minded Radical members of the Inquisition view the Horusians as dangerous in the extreme, likely to become nothing more than more traitorous pawns of the Ruinous Powers. As of the 37 millennium, this sub-sect has all but been phased out.

**Istvaanism** - To the adherents of this Inquisitorial ideology, conflict is desirable to further the progress of humanity through strife. It holds that mankind has made its greatest achievements after periods of conflict, such as the Horus Heresy, or the Age of Apostasy. It is the place of the Istvaanians to strengthen Mankind through adversity, and so they follow a "survival of the fittest" doctrine that often leads these Inquisitors to work at cross-purposes to the rest of the organisation, as they seek to increase the military threats to the Imperium of Man's stability, rather than combat them. The philosophy is named after the Battle of Istvaan III where Horus virus-bombed the remaining Loyalist Space Marines in his Traitor Legions, a battle that initiated the Horus Heresy.

**AN: WHOA, you've no idea how long this took. A lot of the information is straight from the Lexicanum and wikia but if you read carefully, you'll notice there are subtle changes. **

**Big question: A reviewer raised the idea of Eldar Space Marines. Now, before you all go crazy, I want you to know that I planned for this. However, I'm utterly on the fence about it. I'll leave it to you, the readers/reviewers to decide. **

**Leave your answer and your reasoning. I don't need an essay but for every reason you give me, the more likely what you want will occur.**


	5. Grey Knights

**OMAC001: ****Thanks for the vote and good reasoning. **

**NPC200:**** That was my biggest worry. I had wondered if I'd strayed too much away from the Warhammer setting. Sure, I made massive change from one little change but I don't won't to just spit on the source material accidently. So thank you for the praise and the ideas for the Ecclesiarchy. You're also right. Re-reading that speech made by Yriel, it would've been perfect without that line. **

**Benjyboy:**** Thank you. My goal was to make the change more about their methodology and outlook than changing the organization itself. As for the Eldar marines, part of the reason I'm apprehensive is because, while I have a way to make it work, it could open the floodgate to other, more radical things. Also, don't mind the review's size. As long as the review is useful and focuses on critiquing the story, I don't care how long it is. **

**By the way, I just noticed the MASSIVE oversight in the beginning of the story. I have a typo saying the Eldar watched the Great Crusade for ten thousand years. Don't know how that happened…**

**Also, I seem to have a guest that asks me a lot of questions. Now, I don't mind, you're curious and interested. However, please try to put them all into one review if you could, It makes it much simpler to read and answer. Also, certain things I can't answer because it would either reveal too much or I haven't gotten to it yet. **

**Chamber Militant: The Grey Knights **

_**Overview & Origin **_

The Grey Knights are a secret, loyal Chapter of Space Marines. However, while they are nominally a Chapter of the Astartes, they are in the Chamber Militant of the Inquisition. Their origin supposedly lies within the waning days of the Horus Heresy. The Emperor predicted that the cost to end the conflict would come at such a personal cost that he would not be able to protect humanity for the forces of Chaos. As such, he ordered that an organization would be created to defend the Imperium. This organization, which was eventually named the Imperial Inquisition, was to include a branch of specialized warriors, as the onset of the Heresy demonstrated that a powerful military force was necessary to fight the daemonic minions of Chaos.

Accordingly, Malcador the Sigillite, the Regent of Terra, was charged by the Emperor immediately after news had reached Terra of the Warmaster Horus' betrayal during the massacre of the Loyalist Astartes on Istvaan III, to gather a group of dedicated Imperial servants whose loyalty, courage, and strength of mind was unquestioned. Malcador initially chose 12 persons of "an inquisitive nature," 8 loyal Astartes and 4 Imperial lords and administrators, who would respectively become the initial core of the Grey Knights and the conclaves of the Inquisition. They were presented by Malcador to the Emperor at the Imperial Palace after being brought secretly through enemy lines during the Battle of Terra, the final campaign of the Heresy.

The eight Space Marines selected, drawn from Traitor and Loyalist Legions alike, all possessed paranormal skills as psykers that had been kept dormant as required by the edicts of the Council of Nikaea - the Council had ruled during the Great Crusade that the use of psychic powers was forbidden to Space Marines because of the dangers innate to manipulation of the Empyrean. These 8 Astartes had also cast aside their former loyalties to their Legions and Primarchs, either because of the corruption of these Legions by Chaos, or because they realised that loyalty to the Emperor required them to sacrifice all ties to their former Battle-Brothers. After meeting the candidates, the Emperor is believed to have responded, _"Malcador, you have judged well. These eight Space Marines do indeed have a vital role to play in the future of the Imperium, though veiled in secrecy will they be." _

Unlike all subsequent Astartes of the various Chapters that are descended from the First Founding, the Grey Knights are from a unique gene-seed engineered from the genome of the Emperor of Mankind Himself - what is known as "the Emperor's Gift." In addition, they are unique amongst the Space Marines as the only Astartes Chapter to have full knowledge of the dark secrets of Chaos – while not alone, the Grey Knights as a whole have the highest knowledge of and understanding the existence of daemons and of their ability to enter realspace, and they alone are best equipped to battle and defeat the Imperium's most terrible enemy. While other Chapters and Imperial forces have knowledge of daemons and how to fight them, only the Grey Knights are privy to the darkest, deepest secrets that the Ordo Malleus possesses on these creatures and how to defeat them.

**Purity **

In the Space Marines' long history the Grey Knights hold the highest honour of all: no Grey Knight has ever turned to Chaos or betrayed the Emperor. This is a subject of much speculation and discussion within the Chapter and the Inquisition. Inquisitorial savants have written numerous treatises on the subject of the Chapter's inexplicable, continuing purity in the face of constant involvement with the Chaotic even when many Inquisitors have fallen to the Archenemy's corruption.

One possibility is that the Grey Knights have proven uncorruptible due to the unusual nature of their gene-seed: they each are imbued with the absolute purity of the Emperor Himself. However, several Primarchs, carriers of the Emperor's gene-seed, fell to corruption, even though they were much more meticulously engineered, their genetic creation undertaken and supervised by the Emperor before the Great Crusade during the ancient Primarch Project. Another view is that each Grey Knight must constantly reaffirm and retain the purity given to them by the Emperor's gene-seed through right thought and right deeds. There have been thousands of Grey Knights through the millennia, and therefore, countless opportunities for corruption - yet none has ever fallen. This reality defies statistical probability, yet its cause remains unknown - and perhaps unknowable. The debate on the incorruptibility of the Chapter continues, as no authoritative conclusion has been reached. Yet for those with faith in the Emperor, the truth is simple - the Emperor protects.

**The Hidden Chapter **

The existence of the Chapter is one of the most closely-held secrets of the Inquisition. Beyond the Inquisition, only the members of the highest echelons of the Imperium are aware of its existence, though even they are ignorant of the Chapter's organization and methods. This is instituted to allow the Grey Knights' methods to remain secret as possible. As such, a method was developed to allow Grey Knights to interact with other Imperial forces while maintaining their needed security. As every Grey Knight is a thoroughly trained psyker, they are taught to perform a complex but effective technique. Through a series of complex wards in their Aegis Power Armor and their psychic might, any information that a person, who is not trained within certain mental and/or psychic disciplines, might have that pertains to the Grey Knights can easily be reduced to that of a dream: fleeting, unsubstantial and, many times, forgotten. Those who are subjected to this are lead to think that they have won their clashes with the daemonic through sheer grit or cunning strategy. This maintains the Grey Knights' secrecy, eliminates the need to 'silence' entire regiments of Imperial troops, Guardian forces or local populations and bolsters morale all at the same time.

**Chapter Organization **

While the Grey Knights are technically Astartes, they do not involve themselves with the ordinary activities of the other Space Marines. They have no Primarch, as their gene-seed was crafted from the genome of the Emperor Himself, and so they are also not listed under any Founding. They are instead attached to the Ordo Malleus, charged with uncovering and expunging the heretical taint of Chaos wherever it is found.

Each successful Grey Knight Neophyte is given a suit of Aegis Armour and a Nemesis Force Weapon, and is assigned to a squad under the leadership of a sergeant called a Justicar. The Grey Knight can ascend to the position of Justicar, and then from this point may be awarded the Crux Terminatus of the Grey Knights, which would also be accompanied by a suit of Terminator Armour. Elite soldiers within the Terminator corps can be promoted to the rank of Captain, or even to the position of Grand Master of the Chapter, and still retain their Terminator Armour. Multiple Grey Knights may hold the rank of Grand Master at the same time, working together to guide the Chapter as a form of ruling council. At all times, a Grand Master of the Grey Knights traditionally is a member of the Inner Conclave of the Inquisition.

**Organization: Chapter Brotherhoods **

The bulk of the Grey Knights Chapter is organised into Brotherhoods, fighting formations roughly equivalent to the Battle Companies of other Space Marine Chapters. The Chapter comprises 8 such Brotherhoods, each corresponding to one of the 8 Astartes that were chosen by Malcador and the Emperor to be the initial core of the Chapter at the time of the Heresy. On paper, each of the Chapter's Brotherhoods contains roughly one hundred Battle-Brothers under arms, though this nominal figure does not include the Brotherhood's officers: the Brotherhood's Captain in active command, the Brotherhood's Champion, and the Grand Master who holds final responsibility over the Brotherhood. As with other Space Marine Chapters, Grey Knights are primarily organised into squads of ten Battle-Brothers, each of which can then further divide into two combat squads of five should the mission's tactical requirements so dictate. A Grey Knight squad is considered to remain effective with only five of its members battle-worthy, so with a small amount of duty reassignment and doctrinal flexibility, a Brother-Captain can keep his Brotherhood at an acceptable fighting strength, even with a third of his warriors out of commission.

Decisions concerning the exact breakdown of squad type within a Brotherhood rest entirely with its Brother-Captain and Grand Master. However, it has long been proven that a rough balance of squads—between three and seven operational units each of Terminator, Purgation and Strike Squads—is by far the most effective combination. Accordingly, all but the most maverick of commanders follow this example, and make only minor changes to suit their tactical preferences. Regardless of role, all Grey Knight squads draw their equipment from the same Armoury of Nemesis Force Weapons, grenades, Storm Bolters and psi-enhanced heavy weapons. Each squad also independently practices its own psychic disciplines, the better to allow mental and physical prowess to act in reinforced harmony. The only drawback to this organisation is that when a Grey Knight moves from one type of squad to another he must learn anew how to wield his psychic potential in battle, suppressing all other applications he has learned to that point. Each of a Brotherhood's squads is led by a Justicar, a Grey Knight who holds a rank equivalent to that of a standard Space Marine Sergeant. In addition to his bonds of leadership, it is the Justicar's duty to hone and focus the psychic powers of the Battle-Brothers he leads and to act as the conduit for their sorceries. Such a role places the Justicar in greater danger than his fellows, for as the squad's mystic focus he will be the first to suffer should things go awry.

**Organization: Purifiers and Paladins**

In addition to the Brotherhoods, the Grey Knights maintain two other main fighting bodies: the Purifiers and the Paladins. Purifiers are anathema to Warpspawn—tainted creatures wither at their touch. The Purifiers can be considered a separate and entirely unique Brotherhood of the Chapter, albeit a small one. There are rarely more than forty Purifiers at any one time, and on those occasions when their numbers do as well, it inevitably foreshadows some great incursion. Just as the Purifiers are exemplars of the Chapter's spiritual heart, the Paladins are its martial champions. Though they act primarily as bodyguards to the Grey Knights' Grand Masters, Paladin Squads are commonly assigned to fight alongside the Brotherhoods - their skill and experience can swing the odds of even the most desperate battle.

_**Grey Knights Purifier**_ - The Purifiers are an order apart from other Grey Knights, distanced from their Battle-Brothers by their nature and tradition. The Purifiers epitomize the Chapter's sanctity of purpose. Purifiers recruit only from those amongst their Battle-Brothers whose souls are considered to be utterly incorruptible and resistant to the temptations of the Warp - even by the exacting standards of the Grey Knights. So careful is the selection that there are seldom more than a few score Purifiers.

_**Grey Knights Paladin**_ - Paladins are Grey Knights who are warriors without peer. If a Grey Knight wishes to prove himself worthy of a place amongst the Paladins, bravery and skill are not enough - he must complete eight quests to establish his character and cause. Given the perilous nature of these quests, it is little wonder that only the boldest Knights become Paladins. From the moment of his elevation, each Paladin is bound in service not only to his Chapter, but also to one of the Grand Masters for whom he will act as bodyguard, champion and advisor. Henceforth, his place upon the battlefield will be wherever the fighting is thickest and the peril greatest.

**Organization: Squad Types **

**Grey Knights Strike Squad **- Strike Squads often form the vanguard of a Grey Knights' strike force. Strike Squads are used to capture vital locations and key objectives, deploying the Strike Squads via a compact teleporter, not unlike that used by the Warp Spiders, to ensure a swift seizure of isolated or inaccessible locations. Once in place, a Strike Squad can lay down a punishing stream of storm bolter and psycannon fire in support of the main assault.

**Grey Knights Interceptor Squad **- Interceptor Squads carry personal teleporters- backpack-sized devices that allow the squad to teleport site-to-site, without the massive arrays of machinery employed by conventional devices. This is different than the Strike Squad, whose teleportation is short range. Grey Knights equipped with personal teleporters can react to battlefield circumstances on the fly and cover huge straight-line distances by 'shunting' themselves through Warp space. Of all the warriors in service to the Imperium, only Grey Knights could hope to utilise such technology.

**Grey Knights Purgation Squad **- Purgation Squads are the Grey Knights' foremost means of delivering punishing firepower. Each squad carries not one, but up to four of the Chapter's heavy weapons. In aspect, a Purgation Squad appears little different to the Devastator Squads employed by more conventional Space Marine Chapters. In doctrine, however, the two are markedly different. The weaponry wielded by a Purgation Squad is twice as deadly, a hundred times rarer and ten thousand times more valuable than the more commonplace armaments carried by Space Marine Devastators. Devastators will normally advance behind the main assault, seeking out suitable locations from which to unleash covering fire; Purgation Squads are ever required to keep pace with the main attack, all the while picking out suitable targets for their weaponry.

**Chapter Homeworld **

The Grey Knights' fortress-monastery is located on the gas giant Saturn's moon of Titan in the Sol System. This world is also home to the Librarium Daemonica, the Imperium's foremost repository of information relating to daemons, daemonology, sorcery and the Ruinous Powers of Chaos. Only the fabled Black Library, is said to possesses more knowledge. Although Titan is the Chapter's homeworld, squads of Grey Knights are scattered throughout the galaxy, in order to best respond to the threat of the Forces of Chaos, wherever they may strike. Unlike almost all other Space Marine Chapters, the Grey Knights do not follow the tenets of the Codex Astartes in the matter of force organization. Due to the unique manner in which the Grey Knights are recruited and trained, each warrior progresses through a series of pre-ordained ranks and will operate in a particular squad led by an individual of higher rank, rather than being assigned to a particular battle company. These squads may be called upon to act independently from the main body of the Grey Knight force, and have to operate at full efficiency even when light years away from the rest of their Chapter. As such, the Brother-Captain who is the leader of each Grey Knight squad is obeyed immediately and without question by those under his command.

**Chapter Recruitment & Training **

Considering the role of the Grey Knights in the Inquisition, potential recruits are put through even more stringent trials than other Space Marine Aspirants. The recruits, all psykers, are drawn from across the galaxy and brought to Titan for testing. The most advanced bio-engineering and psycho-surgery available is utilized to condition the Aspirants, and each recruit must pass the six hundred and sixty-six Rituals of Detestation, to prove that he is capable of withstanding horrors that would break even the greatest of normal Space Marines. Upon success, the recruit also has all memory of their prior existence and identity erased using a mind-wipe, to better ensure their absolute and unwavering loyalty to the Emperor, and to prevent daemons from using the Aspirant's fears, memories, and feelings against him. One of the main criteria for selection into the Chapter is that the recruit must show great psychic potential, as the entire Chapter is made up of psykers. Once they begin to undergo the standard gene-seed organ implantation process to transform an Aspirant into an Astartes of the Grey Knights, the new Grey Knight is also implanted with silver hexagrammic and pentagrammic Purity Wards under his skin, which cover his entire body and help to prevent daemonic entities from touching or contaminating him. At the same time, the Aspirant is taught to hone their psychic might to a deadly edge. Unlike standard Space Marines who first serve in their Chapter's Scout Marine company, Grey Knights Initiates are awarded a suit of full Power Armour (or Aegis Armour) and are immediately pressed into service. They then move through the ranks as detailed above; this is due to their elite training. They surpass any other type of Space Marine in combat and in every trial. They are the elite of the Space Marines and serve as the right hand of the Emperor. They are the greatest army of the Imperium and its most potent weapon against the Forces of Chaos. The creation of a Grey Knight is an expensive undertaking, even more so that the creation of a standard Astartes: it is said that only one in every one million Aspirants will ascend to the rank of a full Battle-Brother of the Chapter.

As an additional measure of protection, no Grey Knight bears the name he was given at his birth. This is in part to distance him from his previous life and loyalties—an outward sign of having essentially been reborn into the service of the Inquisition. In any case, once a Grey Knight's identity has been erased and rebuilt during training, he is unlikely to remember his past. Only upon completion of his training is a Grey Knight granted his new name—until that point Neophytes are assigned only a number. Each name is actually a fragment of arcane lore, divined by the labours of the Chapter's scribes to act in perfect opposition to the true name of a particular daemon. Thus, even the Grey Knight's name is a weapon against his hated foe. Like the true names of daemons, the auspicious names given to Grey Knights are ever in flux. Nonetheless, some have resurfaced again and again over the millennia, gaining in power just as a specific daemon is reborn from the Warp. So it is that a Grey Knight's name might have been borne by many Battle-Brothers before him. Traditionally, it is considered an honour—and a prophetic sign of great deeds in one's future—to be given a name matching one of Saturn's moons. Such nomenclature is accordingly rare. The information on the Grey Knight's true identity after his rebirth does not exist outside the sealed records of the Inquisition. It does not even exist within the vast data-stacks of Titan's Librarium. This data is rarely accessed, and in truth this kind of lore was often archived and forgotten, rather than consciously buried in the Sol System's annals. Even amongst the Inquisition, only the most curious souls would care for such knowledge, as it is worthless beyond its value as a harmless curiosity. It offers no advantage over an enemy. The Grey Knights are trained and bound and scourged to rarely care about their former lives, and Inquisitors gain no special influence over them by possessing it. Few souls are curious enough to look. A handful every decade, but no more than that.

As Grey Knights ascend in rank and/or show outstanding performance, they are allowed access to knowledge of more advanced abilities. Grey Knights' talents very and some have talents others do not. While some abilities are common place such as Psychic Communion and Hammerhand, others such as Smite or Dark Excommunication are not unknown. However, only the most exceptional get taken into the cult of the Librarius and trained further to maximize their potential.

**Chapter Ranks **

Unlike almost all other Space Marine Chapters, the Grey Knights do not follow the tenets of the Codex Astartes in the matter of force organisation. The Grey Knights' Chapter hierarchy, like that of the Space Wolves and Black Templars, is drastically different from that of other Codex-compliant Space Marine Chapters. Due to the unique manner in which the Grey Knights are recruited and trained, each warrior progresses through a series of preordained ranks and will operate in a particular squad lead by an individual of higher rank rather than being assigned to a particular Battle Company. As such, the leader of each Grey Knights squad is obeyed immediately and without question by those under his command. The biggest difference is that the Grey Knights do not technically have an acknowledged Chapter Master, being officially governed collectively instead by the Chapter Council. Though there are specialist ranks and positions within the Grey Knights that are very similar to those of Codex-compliant Chapters, there exist several unique specialist positions that are found only within the ranks of the Grey Knights:

_**Supreme Grand Master**_ - This is the highest rank that it is possible for a Grey Knight to attain within the Chapter. This venerable rank is equivalent to a Chapter Master of other Space Marine Chapters. Also referred to as the Chapter Lord, the Supreme Grand Master has complete authority over the rest of the Chapter. However, a Grey Knight can only be appointed as the Supreme Grand Master with the unanimous consent of every other Grand Master on the Chapter Council, thus ensuring that an unsuitable candidate does not attain dominion over the Chapter. He will never know peace or respite and he will never know mercy from his enemies, not that a Grey Knight would ever hope for such things. For a Grey Knight, life only has meaning while in service to the Emperor and deeds only carry weight when undertaken in His name. His rule over the Chapter is absolute and he is given the title "Lord" upon assuming his position. Along with the eight Grand Masters he forms the Chapter Council.

_**Grand Master**_ - The second highest rank attainable by a Grey Knight, a Grand Master is—by virtue of his esteemed rank—a member of the Inner Conclave of the Inquisition and the Chapter Council that governs the Grey Knights. By ancient tradition, there are eight Grand Masters of the Chapter. Each is the spiritual heir of one of the eight Founding Astartes of the Chapter during the Horus Heresy who are now recognised in Chapter tradition as the first Grand Masters. A master daemonslayer, a Grand Master always wears Terminator Armor and wields a force weapon in combat, and is also a powerful Psyker. Few, if any, Daemons have been able to stand against a Grand Master of the Grey Knights and survive. The death of such a powerful defender of the Emperor's will is always mourned by the Grey Knights and the Ordo Malleus - though no common citizen of the Imperium will ever know of him. Due to the amount of experience, and enemy kills, needed to become such a warrior, Grand Masters are typically ancient, millennia old, Space Marines. The Grand Masters take charge of the most crucial campaigns where even an experienced Captain is not thought equal to the task. This most commonly happens when one of the Conclave Diabolus - the one hundred and one Greater Daemons in which the Grey Knights take special interest - is sighted in the mortal realm.

_**Captain**_ - A Grey Knights Brother-Captain is in command of one hundred of the galaxy's finest warriors - a heavy responsibility, but one undertaken with somber dignity. Upon the battlefield, a Brother-Captain will be found at the forefront of the fighting, grinding his foes beneath his feet, setting an example for his Battle-Brother to live up to and commanding his troops through psychic communication. They stand amongst the Chapter's foremost warriors, and are second only in rank and battle-prowess to the Chapter's Grand Masters. They have direct command and authority over one of the Chapter's Brotherhoods, making them equivalent to a standard Space Marine Captain of Codex Astartes-compliant Chapters. In matters of strategy and planning, these Brother-Captains answer to no-one, not even to the Grand Masters themselves. A Captain of the Grey Knights is above such things as corruption by the power that they command in battle, for their souls are hardened against the promises and blandishments proffered by the daemons of Chaos.

_**Chaplain**_ - Grey Knights Chaplains fulfill the same functions as in other Marine chapters, albeit on a much higher level, as they have to minister to the spiritual needs of soldiers destined to fight the most horrible of foes. They are rare specimens indeed, and the Chapter has precious few of them. Yet, thanks to them, not one Grey Knight has fallen to Chaos. Chaplains lead from the front as awe-inspiring warrior-priests, fighting wherever the foe is most fierce, leading his brethren and praising the Emperor through the destruction of His enemies. Rejoicing in the glorious act of war, Chaplains exhort their Battle-Brothers to ever greater deeds of bravery and devotion.

_**Librarian**_ - Akin to the Librarians of other Chapters, the Grey Knights Librarian supports his Battle-Brothers with psychic powers far stronger than even those of his brethren. The Librarians of the Grey Knights are among the most thoroughly trained and powerful psykers in the galaxy. Able to rend the layers of reality with but a whim, their powers are surpassed only the likes of very rare and prodigious human psykers or the naturally inclined psychic talents of Eldar Farseers and Warlocks. Yet for all the contributions a Librarian can make to a Grey Knights strike force, his most vital tasks are carried out within the walls of the fortress-monastery on their Chapter homeworld of Titan. It is here that the Librarian will school new recruits in the mysteries that all Grey Knights must know: the six chants of denial, the seven words of life and death, the eight songs of battle, the nine terrible techniques that form the basis of all psychic abilities and much more. A Librarian's tutelage is a most rigorous process, and many Aspirants do not survive, for it is better for a weak recruit to perish at a Librarian's hands than for him to imperil the Chapter and the Imperium through his inadequacies. Yet if the Librarians are called upon to be ruthless, there is little cruelty in their actions, and no malice. This culling of the weak is merely a necessity - for the Grey Knights to remain incorruptible, they must be as hard of mind and will as they are of body.

_**Brotherhood Champion**_ - At the forefront of every Grey Knight Brotherhood is the Brotherhood Champion - a warrior who has forsaken all other forms of combat to become a master of the blade. A specialist rank, a Brotherhood Champion also holds the responsibility for the martial training of new recruits, but on the battlefield, his chief duty is to act as bodyguard to his Brother-Captain. They will willingly sacrifice themselves if necessary, but this ultimate sacrifice is rare, however, as few foes are skilled enough to defeat a Champion in combat.

_**Terminator**_ - A Grey Knight Terminator is a superlative warrior whose status as an elite amongst the elite form the heart of the Grey Knights' fighting forces. These warriors pursue the endless war against the daemons of Chaos, armoured in superior suits of Tactical Dreadnought Armour, facing the vile horrors of the Warp, always outnumbered by the baying foe. They wield the special weapons only found within the Armouries of the Grey Knights - Incinerators and Psycannons (although they use wrist-mounted variants rather than the standard two-handed version) - as their standard Power Armour-wearing Battle-Brothers. A Terminator's primary armament is a Nemesis Force Weapon of some kind, selected from the Chapter's Armoury according to the skills and preferences of its wielder. As there is no doctrinal restriction on the types and numbers of weapons carried, it is rare for two Terminator Squads to bear exactly the same weapons combination. Some prefer the crushing force of a Nemesis Daemon Hammer, others the flurry of attacks granted by a matched pair of Nemesis Falchions.

_**Justicar**_ - Justicars are the officers who lead the latest recruits to the Grey Knights—although it should be noted that such recruits may already have been fighting the Emperor's foes for up to a century. Holding this command is the first step on the path for a Grey Knight to become a Grand Master of the Chapter. Justicars also lead Grey Knight Terminator Squads, although such officers are usually referred to as a "Brother-Captain" rather than Justicar. Unlike the lower ranks in the Grey Knights, a Justicar is permitted to wear his own personal heraldry as a sign of his position as a squad leader.

_**Battle-Brother**_ - The standard Grey Knight. Equipped with the famed suit of Aegis Armour, the standard armament of a Grey Knight also includes a wrist-mounted Storm Bolter of perfect craftsmanship and a Nemesis Force Weapon. Each weapon is unique to its owner, having been attuned to his particular psychic signal. They can take the form of a Halberd, Sword, Axe, Hammer, Mace, Maul, Scythe or even a Morning Star. Newly accepted Battle-Brothers will be inducted into fresh squads led by a Justicar, eventually developing their abilities in leadership, weaponry, psychic ability and armed/unarmed combat. Upon demonstration of above average ability in one of these areas they take their place in either the Assault Teleport, Heavy Purgation squads or become Justicars themselves to lead new batches of recruits.

_**Apothecary**_ - Few Battle-Brothers are as important to the Chapter's future as an Apothecary. It is his task to tend to fallen Battle-Brothers, healing them with his narthecium, or reclaiming the progenoid organs- and the precious gene-seed within - with his reductor should the wounds be too severe. Without Apothecaries, the Grey Knights' genetic heritage would be lost amid the ruin of battle, and the Chapter would cease to exist within a matter of decades. Thus do the Apothecaries receive the foremost guardians the Chapter can provide. On those occasions in which one of the Grey Knights' Apothecaries takes to the battlefield, his protection will be given over to a squad of Paladins.

_**Prognosticator**_ - A Prognosticar is a powerful, highly specialised Astartes psyker who serves within the Grey Knights Chapter and who are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in the Immaterium. They read psychic tremors to predict the location and severity of forthcoming daemonic incursions alongside Farseers. Based on the information they are able to gather from tremors within the Warp, they can predict a daemonic incursion before it happens.

_**Techmarine**_ - Techmarines are warrior-smiths of the highest calibre, responsible for the creation and repair of all the equipment employed by the Grey Knights. Techmarines are forever apart from their Battle-Brothers, for long years of training on Mars inculcate an entirely new set of traditions and rituals upon them. Many of these traditions and rituals stand in direct contradiction to the aims and goals of the Chapter. So it is that a Techmarine is called upon to balance these two opposed sides of his nature on a daily basis: to serve the goals and ideals of his Chapter, but according to the traditions of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

**Chapter Combat Doctrine & Tactics **

The Grey Knights have a special preference for the use of deep strike tactics, particularly the utilisation of teleportation and Stormraven and Thunderhawk Gunships. The initial detection of daemonic infestation is left to the Inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus, but the majority of combat is wisely left to the Chamber Militant. The Grey Knights often teleport themselves directly into combat, as near to the target as possible, both to ensure they arrive without any unnecessary losses and to minimise their presence. Any remaining hostile forces are left to be dealt with by additional Imperial troops, usually to whom squads of Grey Knights have been assigned as a specialist division.

Most engagements of the Chapter will involve a single squad of Grey Knights supporting an Ordo Malleus Inquisitor, or a local force of planetary law enforcement, military forces or Imperial Guard. For the most serious daemonic incursions, several squads of Grey Knights numbering usually about 20 Astartes are collected around the presence of a senior Captain, or even a Grand Master. In these circumstances, Tactical Squads will attempt to establish a beachhead in the Chaos-tainted area, before the Terminators and senior Astartes teleport down to the surface and engage the primary daemon, banishing it back to the Immaterium.

The very presence of Grey Knights upon the field of battle is extremely painful to daemons and other Warp entities. The Grey Knights' gestalt psychic purity and powers are combined through a squad's Justicar into the Aegis, a psychic "choir" that is amplified by the presence of additional squads "singing" in tandem. These normally inaudible sonorous chants of detestation act as a weapon that repels the daemonic and makes it hard for these entities to maintain a presence in the physical universe. The presence of Telekines in Grey Knights squads enhances the potency of the Aegis: by raising psychic shields, the Telekines allow their Battle-Brothers to advance on targets with relative impunity. This means that Grey Knights gain immense advantages against Chaotic opposition, but the high expense to the Imperium of creating even a single Grey Knight leads to its own tactical problems—for all their power, Grey Knights will always be badly outnumbered and must focus upon the fast and lethal application of force. A byproduct of the use of the Aegis is the absence of any warcry for the Chapter. Grey Knights attack in seeming silence, and take care of their objective with remarkable economy of both action and communication.

A Grey Knights force also contains a high proportion of troops who can teleport through the Warp into battle, a high-risk maneuver which can turn the tide of combat if deployed well. Teleportation may also require complicated battle-related arrangement and positioning and depending on the mission, can involve large number of squads teleporting in sync.

**Nemesis Force Weapons **

The characteristic weapon of the Grey Knights is the Nemesis force weapon. It can take the form of a halberd, sword, mace, axe, or the rarer hammer. It is a powerful force weapon, housing a psi-matrix attuned to the unique psyche of its owner. In original versions, the haft incorporated a bolter weapon, similar to the Adeptus Custodes guardian spear; on newer models of the Grey Knights the bolter is a wrist-mounted storm bolter, incorporated into the armour itself. Like all force weapons, the power of the weapon itself directly corresponds to the psychic talent of the wielder; as the Grey Knights are some of the greatest psykers of the Imperium, a Nemesis weapon is a truly devastating weapon.

**Ranged Weapons **

Like other Space Marine Chapters, the Grey Knights favour Bolter weapons. Their brutal damage and potent armour penetration makes them ideal assault weapons—not to mention the demoralising effect on the enemy that seeing a comrade torn apart by a .75 calibre bolt round may have. Grey Knights also employ a number of special ranged weapons such as Incinerators and Psycannons, all of which are designed for maximum effectiveness against daemons, Warp-entities and psykers:

Astartes Storm Bolters - Grey Knight Bolter weapons function in much the same way as standard Astartes Bolter weapons, albeit they are of a larger design and more robust manufacture. The advantages they gain from their size and superior ammunition quality is included in their profile. These weapons are common to the Grey Knights and often mounted on the wrist so that each Astartes might have a free hand to wield their Nemesis Force Weapon two-handed. Essentially incorporating two Bolters side-by-side, these weapons are often issued with Psybolt Ammunition. Grey Knights always wear their Storm Bolters on a special wrist mount that allows them to fire the Bolter while keeping their hands free.

Astartes Incinerator - Incinerators are actually Heavy Flamers that use a psychically impregnated form of Promethium that burns hotter and more fiercely and is particularly damaging to daemons.

Astartes Psilencer - The Psilencer does not fire traditional ammunition. Rather, it focuses the psychic might of the wielder into an amplified energy pulse that is released as a beam of unstoppable force. These arcane weapons harness the psychic potential of the user, who must unleash a bolt of psychic force into the containment core of the device. This burst of energy is then amplified and directed by the crystals in the weapon.

Astartes Psycannon - An ancient weapon whose manufacturing process has long been lost to the Imperium, the Psycannon was specially designed for the Grey Knights. Psycannons always use Psybolt ammunition and incorporate special anti-gravitic suspensors which reduce their weight and make them easier to fire on the move.

**Aegis Armor**

The suits of power and Terminator armor worn by the Grey Knights are incredibly well crafted lattice of psychoconductive filaments and amulets; anointed and inscribed with prayers and wards, lattices of wraithbone and are ritually consecrated and psychically charged. Working in tandem with the Grey Knights' formidable psychic powers, the Aegis armour protects the wearers from the effects of the Immaterium and the Daemons it spawns. The armor's ritual blessings and psychic resonance also serve to confound the perception of any enemy, resulting in an effect called the Shrouding. The psychically charged nature of the armour allows its mere presence to induce intense terror and pain in any nearby daemons and warp spawn, also loosening their grip on the material realm. At the same time, the addition of wraithbone allow for the armor to lighter than that of the standard Astartes, allowing Grey Knights to move faster and be, overall, more agile, without sacrificing defensive power.

**Aegis Dreadnought **

Like their fellow Space Marine Chapters, when a Battle-Brother of the Grey Knights sustains such grievous wounds that he is beyond even the skilled talents of their Chapter's Apothecaries, he may be interred within a cybernetic sarcophagus and placed within the formidable armoured shell of a mighty Dreadnought if he is found worthy of continuing to serve the Emperor. Unlike other Chapters, however, Grey Knights do not look upon this extension of their life as an honour—for it is the fervent wish of every Grey Knight that upon his death he be carried back to Titan to be interred in the consecrated crypts of the Dead Fields—resting for eternity alongside the greatest of the Chapter's heroes. They would rather find peace in eternal rest than continue their lives inside a machine. As such, Grey Knight Dreadnoughts are extremely rare.

Yet it is not the Dreadnought's armour, nor its Aegis reinforcement, nor even its armament, that make it such a deadly foe. That honour goes to the warrior that guides the goliath. Only the mightiest of the fallen are interred within a Dreadnought. This great warrior has long set aside all mortal frailties for a mechanical form that is as untiring and unyielding as his own will. Such is a Dreadnought's wealth of combat experience that, once fully awakened, it can adopt any role required. Indeed, amongst the Grey Knights, it is far from unusual for a Dreadnought to serve as a secondary commander, holding authority over the main strike force, thus allowing the Brother-Captain to direct efforts elsewhere. This should come as no surprise, for many Dreadnought pilots attained the rank of Brother-Captain, or even Grand-Master, before their internment, and relish the opportunity to apply their strategic acumen to fresh campaigns. To take battle alongside such a warrior is to walk in the shadow of a living legend and, in such company, a Battle-Brother will not be found wanting.

**Nemesis Dreadknight **

Nemesis Dreadknights are a more powerful and advanced version of the standard Dreadnought. However, Dreadknights are not cybernetic combat walkers but advanced exoskeletons intended to be used by any Astartes trained in their use to enhance his physical strength and firepower beyond even the superhuman norm of the Space Marines. These warmachines are currently exclusive to the Grey Knights. Dreadknight exoskeletons were designed and built for the purpose of allowing a single Grey Knights Astartes to combat powerful Greater Daemons and Daemon Princes who are physically far stronger than even the oldest and most experienced Space Marine. In appearance, Dreadknights are drastically different from standard Dreadnoughts. They are taller, bulkier and appear as a humanoid-shaped exoskeleton. Unlike Dreadnoughts which sometimes replaces one of its manipulators for a weapon, a Dreadknight has two large Power Fist-like appendages that then can hold additional weapons (such as Heavy Bolters) that are mounded on the exoskeleton's wrists. This unique addition allows the Dreadknight to be armed with massive Nemesis Warhammers or Power Swords so that it can engage in melee combat with all of the fluidity and agility of a human being. The pilot's head is almost completely exposed in the top of the exoskeleton's pilot compartment, but can freely enter and leave the warmachine, unlike true Dreadnoughts, whose Astartes occupants have been hard-wired into the Dreadnought's cybernetic shell for all eternity. Despite this disadvantage, it is possible that the Dreadknight has greater flexibility, strength and agility in combat than a Dreadnought, making it more dangerous and effective in combat against the truly potent foes it must face.

**Psychic Powers of the Grey Knights **

_**The Canticle of Absolution**_ - This ancient rite is used by the Grey Knights to banish daemons and purify locations where they have laired; it is also known as the Six-Hundred-and-Sixty-Six Secret Words.

_**Dark Excommunication**_ - The Grey Knight weaves an enchantment that severs a daemon's connection to its dark master, one of the Chaos Gods, causing it to dissolve into the Empyrean.

_**Hammerhand **_- Focusing the raging power of their minds, Grey Knights can augment their already prodigious might. Even unarmed, such a warrior can crush flesh and bone—given blade or hammer there is little limit to what they can slay.

_**Holocaust**_ - Units of Grey Knights Terminators are able to make use of the Holocaust psychic power as a whole. A group of Grey Knights can harness their collective psychic powers to manifest this ability as long as the entire group remains focused on the manifestation. If successful, a Grey Knight Terminator can incinerate opponents at close range using this power. It is a manifestation of the hate the Grey Knights feel for the daemonic, and is completely capable of burning a daemon's physical body to ash. This power is especially terrifying because whatever is destroyed by the Holocaust power dies in the Warp as well, its spirit extinguished like a candle. It can burn the souls of mortals to nothing and can banish daemons as if they were but a bad dream. This power is a lesser version of the extraordinary final burst of psychic power used by the Emperor of Mankind Himself to snuff out the soul of Horus in the Warp at the end of the Horus Heresy during the final battle on Horus' Battle Barge, the Vengeful Spirit.

_**Might of Titan**_ - Summoning up the power of the Chapter's ancestors and calling on the sacred genetic heritage which all Battle-Brothers possess, the Grey Knight Librarian is able to harden muscles and boost the strength of those allies in close proximity to him.

_**Mind Blades**_ - The Grey Knight imbues the blades and other melee weapons of his allies with unerring accuracy and the ability to seek out even the smallest of chinks in their foes' armour, helping his friends land devastating blows to quickly despatch their enemies.

_**Nemesis Hammerhand**_ - When summoning this ability, a Grey Knight Librarian is able to put the strength of his mind behind the blows of his fists or weapons, striking fiercely enough to wound even the toughest foes.

_**Quicksilver**_ - Quickened by the Librarian's uncanny mind, his fellow Grey Knights' reflexes are increased to an uncanny speed and swiftness.

_**Sanctuary**_ - Chanting words of binding, the Librarian creates a shield of psychic turbulence to hinder his foes. This barrier extends out around the Librarian in a 10 meter radius and impedes all those who attempt to cross. The barrier does not impede a Grey Knight's movement in any way.

_**The Shrouding**_ - Through prayer and the combined gestalt psychic power of the Grey Knights, they are able to blind their enemies to their location through their sheer faith in the Emperor and the power from the Warp this faith can draw. This protects them from ranged attacks and enhances their stealth. The Shrouding extends out around the Grey Knight in a 20 meter radius and makes those within it hazy and indistinct when viewed from without whilst not restricting the vision of those within it.

_**Smite**_ - Lethal bolts of lightning leap from the Librarian's fingertips, tearing his enemies apart in a barrage of psychic energy.

_**The Summoning**_ - The Librarian is able to reach out through the Immaterium and call upon his allies, drawing them across the intervening distance in the blink of an eye. The Grey Knight can use this power on a number of allies, though he must have met each one personally and must know them by name so that he can recognise their presence in the Warp across space and time. When he invokes this power he "calls" to these chosen allies and they are instantly aware that he is summoning them. If they choose to answer the call they are instantly transported through the Warp to his side.

_**Vortex of Doom**_ - The Librarian is able to open a tear between the material realm and the howling destruction of the Warp, unleashing devastating energies that utterly consume his foes.

_**Warp Quake**_ - The Grey Knight causes the Warp to tremor, causing denizens of the Empyrean to lose their hold on reality and any device or technology that uses its power for guidance to fail.

_**Warp Rift**_ - With a simple gesture, the Librarian is able to rend the material realm asunder, condemning his foes to the caprices of the Warp.

**AN: Wow, did this take a bit. I was careful to only change certain things about the Grey Knights. **

**As for the Eldar Marines: still working on that. Messing with Eldar genetics opens up a lot of floodgates. That's all I'm going to say on that matter. **

**What's next? I'm looking into doing any of these: the Ecclesiarchy and the Sisters of Battle, Adeptus Mechanicus, the Phoenix Lords, Exodite Worlds, or the Harlequins. **


	6. Adeptus Ministorum (Part I)

**NPC200: ****I can definitely make one of those happen right now.**

**OMAC001: ****Thank you and here you go.**

**Benjyboy: ****Thank you and as I said, I didn't try to change too much about the Grey Knights. I just wanted to refine them a little more. **

**Deathwatch Razgriz: ****Could I make a story out of this, sure. But with such a drastic change to the story of Warhammer and the fact I haven't mapped out some of the most important aspects to the various factions and their statuses, that'd be a little hard. Now, I could, when I cover events or whatnot, like the Tau Incident, add first person records. However, as I said before, this is more like a codex. A story may appear out of all this, but I'm not making any promises.**

**Kondoru: ****Thank you. I too have a special place for the Chapter 666. And upon reading your comment, I realized you're right. It wouldn't work and the Paths of the Eldar are too important and central to mess with. **

**IT IS OFFCIAL: ****No Eldar Space Marines.**

**Adeptus Ministorum **

_**Overview**_

The Ecclesiarchy (officially the Adeptus Ministorum) is the closest thing to an official state church that the Imperium has. It maintains and spreads the Imperial Creed throughout the Imperium's network of worlds. Its duty is to promote the veneration of the Emperor of Mankind as the greatest representation of Humanity and maintain the collective emulation of the example He set before His placing in the Golden Throne.

**History **

During the Great Crusade, many different cults appeared throughout the Imperium worshiping the Emperor as a god, each with their own subtle variations and differences. These forms of worship appeared first in those primitive planets that had strongly regressed during the _Age of Strife_. The numbers of these cults multiplied immensely with the Emperor's ultimate sacrifice to mankind and subsequent incarceration upon the Golden Throne. Most of these cults would gradually fade away, while others prospered, eventually absorbing the weaker ones. The more successful ones attempted to spread their forms of worship to other planets.

In the beginning, strongest of all of them was the Temple of the Saviour Emperor. This cult had the advantages that it was based on Terra, and that its leader had been a successful and respected officer of the Imperial Guard who had fought at the Battle of Terra, defending the Imperial Palace. This leader had re-named himself as Fatidicus and had begun to preach his teachings to anyone who would listen. This faith spread among the members of the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Navy, but also to lowly scribes and minor adepts of the Adeptus Terra. The faith was spread by these individuals to other planets.

In the wake of the chaos and anarchy of the _Horus Heresy_, the Temple of the Saviour Emperor provided a message of reunification through a common faith. Cults who rejected being absorbed, or who couldn't be absorbed, saw themselves being persecuted by fanatical mobs. Officially, the Temple rejected this violence performed in its name.

However, at the same time, another major event occurred. Exact records are scarce, and as such, Imperial scholars are not completely sure as too when it first appeared, but it has been confirmed to exist. On the outskirts of the Imperium, the Eldar Harlequin appeared. The Harlequins, or Rillietann, are a unique subset of the Eldar race, who split their time between being talented battlefield fighters and theatrical performers. Not only did the Harlequin aid in the cleansing of the forces of Chaos, a troupe of them, including a Solitaire, preformed the greatest of their works for a human populace. The performance, simply called _The Dance_, retold the _Fall of the Eldar_. It is said that it was so awe-inspiring that every single member of the audience wept at both its beauty and sadness. Many still speculate why the Harlequin chose to do this.

The results however, became clear. The retelling of the _Fall of the Eldar_, reignited many of the beliefs from the original Imperial Truth. The Imperial Truth, as taught by the Emperor, had claimed all of the other intelligent alien races, such as the Eldar, had already tried and failed to maintain galaxy-spanning civilizations. Yet, with this insight into the Eldar's actual fall and the reasons behind it, many realized the stunning similarities between _the Fall_ and the _Horus Heresy_. The Eldar had fallen due to a gradual descent into cruelty, excess, and hedonism. In many ways, this is what occurred when the Primarchs and the Traitor Legions fell to Chaos. The Eldar had progressed to a point that only corruption within themselves brought about their empire's collapse, the birth of Slaanesh and the Dark Eldar. The Great Crusade had been dismantled, the Emperor had suffered grievous wounds, and half of the Space Marine Legions had fallen to Chaos from flaws within. This sudden revelation had pointed to a lack of mastery of oneself. Lack of discipline lead to weakness, weakness clouded one's judgment and with that came only corruption.

Word quickly spread of this belief. Whereas the Temple of the Savior Emperor has the advantage of being based on the cradle of Humanity, the emerging movement that came to be known as Confederation of Enlightenment, was rooted in the in many of the same beliefs espoused by the Emperor Himself and offered, in many ways, a simple but almost tangible solution to avoid falling to Chaos. While the Temple provided a uniting force for those who were left reeling after the terrible events of the Horus Heresy, it at the same time destroyed any other cults which would or could not match their beliefs to those of the Temple, the Confederation converted the majority of its skeptics through logic, citation of history and conviction. If conversion failed, the Confederation labeled the unbelievers as weak It did not hurt that the Harlequin started to appear more frequently upon Imperial worlds to retell the history of the Eldar, further adding credence to the Confederation's cause.

These developments culminated in M32 as almost two-thirds of the Imperium were split between following the teachings of the Temple or the Confederation. The only factions that were exceptions to this were the Space Marines and the Adeptus Mechanicus, who had their own forms of worship. This schism threatened to tear the Imperium apart as those who sided with the Temple declared the Confederation heretical and ungrateful of the God-Emperor's sacrifice, while the believers of the Confederation view the Temple as zealots who saw only what they wanted and ignored what the Emperor attempted to teach humanity. The deciding factor came to the High Lords of Terra. As the Imperium was seeking to further strengthen itself, the High Lords viewed the Temple's methods of worship as wasteful as they created overly lavished shrines and cathedrals devoted to the Emperor. On the other hand, the Confederation created humble sanctuaries to allow the populace to reflect on their personal weaknesses and feelings, so that they may better themselves in service of the Imperium. As such, the High Lords publically sided with the Confederation.

**AN: Man, this subject is difficult. There is so much to cover. As such, I'm going to split this one into parts, as all the history needs to be rewritten and I need to time to think about how to make it all work. **

**If anyone has any suggestions, I'm leave it in a review or shoot me a PM. **


	7. Adeptus Ministorum (Part 2)

**OMAC001:**** Here ya go.**

**carcturus334:**** The Confederation of the Enlightenment still carries things against xenos. Remember, their beliefs stem from most of the aspects of the original Imperial Truth. It's really just that the Harlequin have changed a lot of things. Their interventions forced the Imperium to delve into the actual history of the Eldar. With that understanding combined with the devastation of the Heresy, it leaves people with a deeper knowledge and a more open attitude. It's hard to label the Eldar simply as Xenos when you know what they went through and you've gone through the same thing on top of the fact they are helping you now. In addition, the Emperor himself was the one to forge and sanction this alliance, which removes many inhibitions or misgivings. It's a somewhat hypocritical view, because humanity is deciding to attempt to understand one species but refuses to do so with any of the others. It also adds to the Eldar's arrogance in a way because, it literally says they're better than all the other races of the galaxy and are allowed into the Imperium.**

**Benjyboy:**** Thank you. **

**Adeptus Ministorum**

**History (Cont.) **

With the High Lords' acceptance of the Confederation of Enlightenment, it became the uniting ideology of the Imperium. It also became an official organization of the Imperium as the Adeptus Ministorum. The outrage that spawned from the Temple faction of the Imperium was immense but not unexpected. However, again, the sheer practicality of the former Confederation's methods quickly became apparent. As less time was needed to establish Sanctuaries of Reflection and backed fully by the Adeptus Terra and Adeptus Mechanicus, the Ministorum spread quickly throughout the rest of the Imperium. Despite fierce resistance of the Temple, it faced a new kind of enemy that it wasn't equipped to deal with: one with reason and a deep understanding of the human psyche that could not be cowed by physical force. The former Confederation's teaching had long forced them to look at themselves to minimize weakness and/or, ideally, eradicate it. As such, its' various agents and operatives knew the nature of humanity. Where the Temple called for blind faith, the Ministorum countered with knowledge and understanding. Where the Temple said the Emperor was a God, the Ministorum recited the Emperor's own belief that he was not a God. Even further, the Ministorum spread propaganda of the traitorous Word Bearers, connecting religious zeal to corruption.

The newly created Ministorum's teachings and methods infiltrated the Temple. Citizens who had long been oppressed by tithes and forced to adhere to a narrow doctrine, where now offered the ability to learn to take their destiny with their own hands and minds, just as the Emperor had always planned since the Great Crusade. Soon, disgruntled parties who had been persecuted by the Temple came forward and were quickly followed by new populations of worlds that had been brought into the Imperium. The backing of the Imperium's governing body made the rising Ministorum untouchable. Any attempted violence that came from the Temple was put down and only served to strength the Ministorum's position: the Temple was made up of religious zealots. Slowly but steadily, the Temple's followers were converted or imprisoned. It would be nearly two hundred and fifty years before the Temple fell into full decline. As more and more people gathered towards the Ministorum, remnants of the Temple went into hiding. Only a few cells and hidden shrines of the Savior Emperor managed to survive the mass conversions and the power of the Ecclesiarchy was made complete.

At the end of the 33rd millennium every Imperial world was furnished with its own sanctuary and the coffers of the Ecclesiarchy were filled with the offerings and tithes of billions of faithful. This wealth was wisely spent in maintaining the various Sanctuaries of Reflection or diverted to other organizations when needed.

Over the course of the millennia, the Ministorum's influence upon the Imperium's population was considerable. While other organizations and departments, such as the Adeptus Administratum, feared the possibility of the Ministorum becoming too powerful, the Ecclesiarchy's own doctrine kept this fear from manifesting into reality.

**Tenets **

The Imperial Creed is highly flexible and is tailored to fit the native culture, religion, and practices of whatever world it exists upon. As such, practices adhered to on one world may be held as abhorrent or strange on another. The Ministorum tolerates this vast range of practices and beliefs, as it would be impossible to maintain a complete standardization across the entire Imperium.

However, the Ecclesiarchy does enforce basic key tenets:

The Emperor is the one true representation and saviour of humanity. As such he surpasses any past deity that humankind may have worshipped.

To purge Chaos, beware the mutant, be wary of the psyker and abhor the xenos.

Excess of any negative emotion or trait is a weakness. To be out of control of oneself is to invite disaster.

Every human being and Eldar has a place within the Imperium.

To obey the authority of the Imperial government and one's superiors.

One's action should lead to the betterment of the Imperium and her people, not oneself.

**Interaction with the Paths of the Eldar **

As the Eldar Path are behavior patterns that act as a form of physical and psychic protection against the Eldar's baser nature, and allows an Eldar to experience his race's incredibly intense emotions without repeating the terrible excesses that led to the cataclysmic Fall of the Eldar in the past, the Ministorum and Imperial Creed acts much the same way to humans. That said, there is little to no friction between the Creed and the Paths as they both are designed to do the same thing. The Creed accepts the Eldar's gods due to the fact that the Emperor is regarded as the peak of HUMAN potential and the firsthand accounts of the Avatars of Kaela Mensha Khaine.

**AN: I'm sorry for taking so long but my finals really tied me up. Also, I really needed a break. I know that I haven't spoken about the Sisters of Battle in depth or the Age of Apostasy. **

**The problem is that I haven't figured out how to work them in exactly. There's also the face that I need to write on another topic so that this story doesn't go into limbo or the like. **

**As such I'll get back to all of it eventually. I will be looking into the Mechainicus, the Tyrannic Wars, the Phoenix Lords and the fates of the Loyalist Primarchs. **


	8. Path of the Warrior

**Benjyboy****: **Thank you.

**Someguy300****: **Thanks. After talking with Deathwatch Razgriz, there is a high chance that I will create an actual story out of all of this. I still want to map out some things before I do, though, so that I can use this particular story/codex as a reference.

**Officer Hot-Pants****: **Thank you for the ideas. While I was honestly stumped by what to do with the Priesthood of Mars, I just didn't know what to do with the origins of the Sisters of Battle. Yet, I will definitely take what you've said into account when I write about them.

**Path of the Warrior **

Alongside Mankind, the Eldar as a race are beset on every side by warfare. At one point, their numbers were so low, for Eldar generations are born all too few and far between, and what remained of the race could not afford to lose any more of their reduced numbers. However, the alliance with the Imperium has afforded the Eldar the time to recuperate and with that has come the vital boost to their population. What was once simply a battle for survival, has become a fight to retake the stars. Young Eldar often believe that they can rebuild their lost but once glorious empire with fire and passion and the Imperium makes use of them.

When the Eldar go to war, they do so as a group of specialists who perfectly complement one another's assigned tactical role in combat. Each unit plays its own part with masterful skill, their abilities combining to produce a true symphony of destruction and careful grace that is distinctively Eldar. From the most numerous horde to the the mightest enemy war engine, there is an Eldar squad with the skills and wargear that is perfectly suited to the foe's destruction. Combined with the prescience of the Farseers and the strategic skill of the Autarchs, even a small Eldar strike force can devastate its opponents before they can muster an effective counter-attack. This tactic is long been used with other forces such as the Imperial Guard, to devastate the enemy and allow foothold to be gained before expanding outwards. The Eldar martial ideal is to slaughter their foes without suffering a single loss of their own, for the usurpers of the galaxy are many and every warrior is needed for many a theatre of war.

**Aspect Shrines**

When an Eldar feels called to the path of the Warrior, he or she will join an Aspect Shrine, a cult of warriors who train themselves to embody an aspect of the Eldar War God Kaela Mensha Khaine. Each Aspect Shrine is led by an Exarch, an Eldar who has found his- or herself unable to leave the path of the warrior.

**Aspect Warriors **

The Path of the Warrior teaches the arts of death and destruction. Due to the inherent dark side of the Eldar psyche, this Path calls to almost all Eldar at some point in their long lives. Exactly what will draw an Eldar onto the Path of the Warrior, to put on his "war mask" as the Exarchs say, is uncertain. Perhaps it is the recognition of the innate destructive impulse in the dark side of their psyche that only the ritual training and vicious combat of this Path can purge. In ages past, the Phoenix Lords taught the arts of war to both male and female Eldar, and as such, Eldar Aspect Warriors come equally from both genders. As with many of the more complex Paths, the Path of the Warrior is divided into many different specialisations. Each these is known as a Warrior Aspect, representing a different facet of the Eldar God of War Khaela Mensha Khaine, and bringing with it unique fighting disciplines, wargear and abilities.

The Aspects differ greatly from one another in their methods of warfare, and offer many specialist skills intended to allow them to carry out specific tactical roles on the battlefield. Since joining the Imperium, the many of the Craftworlds have been turned into moving fortresses, allowing them to become homes to numerous Aspect Shrines. Each Aspect present on a Craftworld maintains at least one Aspect Shrine in which its adherents can practice the master of their version of the Path of the Warrior. When called to war, the Aspect Warriors fight in the predetermined manner associated since ancient times with their Phoenix Lord and their Aspect Shrine. They have their own warrior garb and wargear, distinctive ritual battle armour and highly individualised weaponry. Their minds and bodies are honed with endless exercise, both physical and spiritual, until they become suffused with the aspect of Khaine that their Aspect Shrine is intended to honor. The Aspect Warriors do not live in the Aspect Shrines, and when they "take off their war masks" they can live in peace. The Webway allows for easy travel so that Aspect Warriors may be allowed to rejoin their homes and communities throughout the Imperium during rare periods of rest. Only the keepers of each Aspect Shrine, the Exarchs, are forced to live within the shrines.

**Dire Avengers: **The first amongst the Aspect Warriors of the Eldar. They represent the Eldar War God Khaela Mensha Khaine in his aspect as the noblest and yet most merciless of warriors. The Dire Avengers show no mercy to their foes and are unwavering in their devotion to their people. These warriors are the least specialized and the most tactically flexible of all the Warrior Aspects, as they serve Eldar armies as elite ranged infantry. The Dire Avengers are also the most common of the Warrior Aspects amongst the Eldar, and their shrines are the largest to be found on all the Craftworlds. When in battle, Dire Avengers use their Shuriken Catapults to create an impenetrable storm of monomolecular shards. They have an uncanny knack of knowing when to follow this onslaught with a lightning-fast assault and when to carefully draw the enemy forward onto their blades. These patient, methodical warriors are equally well-suited for both offensive and defensive operations. Their training gives them the uncanny ability to read the ebb and flow of battle, knowing when to press the attack or feign retreat and fall back, luring their foes into a carefully prepared ambush. Dire Avengers are also trained in hand-to-hand combat techniques, though with the exception of their Exarchs who can become specialists in close combat techniques, this is not the primary focus of their training, which is bent towards generalized elite ranged infantry skills. Because of their adaptability, Dire Avengers are also the most common Aspect Warriors used to conduct special operations missions beyond the bounds of normal combat requirements. These missions can range from the necessity of aiding Exodites from an incursion by Greenskins to protecting a Farseer engaged in diplomatic negotiations with a hostile non-Imperial Craftworld.

**Howling Banshees: **The all-female Eldar Aspect Warriors who specialise in highly mobile melee combat and represent the Eldar War God Khaela Mensha Khaine's ability to instill fear in his foes. The banshee is a harbinger of woe and death in Eldar Mythology. Their cry is said to herald ill fate and can even wrench a soul from a Spirit Stone. It is fitting that these most feared of all the Eldar Aspect Warriors draw their inspiration from this creature. These lightly-equipped warrior-women are fearsome melee combat specialists who draw their inspiration from the unearthly creature with which they share a name. What the Howling Banshees lack in brute strength they make up for with their uncanny and inhuman precision and efficiency. The piercing warcry of these Aspect Warriors has heralded the coming doom of countless enemies. Howling Banshees are swift and athletic Eldar warriors who specialise in deadly hand-to-hand fighting. Howling Banshees wear armoured helmets called Banshee Masks that contain psychosonic amplifiers which magnify their keening battle screams into mind-destroying shock waves. The forces unleashed by the Banshee Mask can inflict severe damage to the central nervous system of a Banshee's foe; inspiring a feeling of mortal terror and causing momentary paralysis to take hold over a victim's body. A full squad of Banshees activating their masks in unison can cripple an enemy unit before a single blow is struck, leaving them paralysed and helpless before their onslaught. The Howling Banshees have been seen many times with the Sisters of Battle, aiding in rooting out dangerous deviants.

**Striking Scorpions: **Epitomizing the deadly attributes of their namesake, and they are the most skilled of all the close-assault Warrior Aspects on the Eldar Path of the Warrior. They are merciless killers without exception, reveling in the hunt and the kill, using stealth and shadow to cloak themselves from sight until the moment of attack. The Striking Scorpions represent the wrath of the War God Kaela Mensha Khaine, which can fall without warning and with extraordinary savagery upon his foes. The Striking Scorpions are one of the Eldar Warrior Aspects dedicated to close combat, particularly close combat during infiltration missions in which they must first close with the enemy undetected before unleashing their wrath. Many Striking Scorpions are physically more powerful than standard Eldar, and can match their Dark Eldar counterparts for sheer physical power. The signature attack of the Striking Scorpion is made by the weapon pods housed on either side of the warrior's helmet, known as Mandiblasters. These are small, short-ranged laser weapons used to deliver a deadly energy sting in close combat that can be psychically triggered. A Mandiblaster volley and the blistering storm of attacks from the Scorpions that follow it is enough to tear the heart out of an enemy force. Compared to their closest cousins, the Howling Banshees, Striking Scorpions are not as swift but instead more adept at moving through dense terrain, using every available nook and crevice to lie in wait for the enemy before unleashing their attack. Only those Eldar of strong physique can become Striking Scorpions in order to wear their armor and wield their weapons. Striking Scorpions are best deployed to deal with tactical situations in which they face off against large numbers of enemy troops who are weaker than they, though their unusual physical prowess for Eldar allows the Striking Scorpions to successfully battle foes head-to-head that most Eldar, even other Aspect Warriors, would avoid, like the larger and more powerful varieties of Ork.

**Dark Reapers:** The most most menacing of the Eldar Aspect Warriors. They exemplify the Eldar War God Kaela Mensha Khaine in his aspect as the Destroyer, and their skull-masked costume echoes that of their founder and Phoenix Lord, the "Harvester of Souls," Maugan Ra. They specialise in the use of highly-destructive, long-range heavy weaponry. The Dark Reapers' Aspect Armour is the color of midnight, and incorporates a complex set of interlocking plates. Although the Dark Reapers are comparatively slow-moving compared to other Eldar warriors as a result of their heavy armour, this is of little consequence, for their role on the battlefield is to serve as long-ranged heavy weapons fire support for the more mobile Eldar units. The Phoenix Lord of the Dark Reapers, Maugan Ra, teaches that the kiss of death can be delivered from afar. It is this credo that is central to the way of the Reaper. Their sacred weapon is the Reaper Launcher, a long-barreled missile weapon that can create a blistering firestorm of small missiles with a single salvo. The small armor-piercing missiles the Reaper Launcher fires are powerful enough to take down all but the most heavily protected of foes. The Dark Reapers pride themselves on their accuracy. To absorb the recoil of firing the Launcher and maintain a steady firing position, the powered limb supports include lower leg armour and boots fitted with stabilisers and clamps to secure the Dark Reaper to the ground. Their helmet incorporates specialised rangefinding sensor vanes which extends out of the helmet of their Aspect Armour and allows a Dark Reaper to achieve target lock on even fast-moving vehicles. This also creates a mind-link with the Dark Reaper's weapon, allowing them to "see" out of the muzzle of the launcher. The resulting increase in their already deadly accuracy means it is almost impossible for a Dark Reaper to miss his target. Their superb aim enables them to dominate the battlefield, pinning down enemy forces and destroying their chosen targets at will. The downside to all of their extra equipment, along with the weight of their heavy weapon, is that Dark Reapers are slower and less mobile compared to other Aspect Warriors. However, as their primary tactical role is to provide long-range fire support, this is not seen as significantly detracting from the Aspect's combat effectiveness. Operating in squads of three to five Dark Reapers, one of which may be an Exarch, these units are usually positioned in cover behind the main Eldar battle line, where they can best support the advance of friendly troops and target the enemy's heavy assets. For added mobility the squad can also be mounted in a Wave Serpent transport.

**Fire Dragons: The **Eldar Aspect Warriors who seek to embody the writhing, sinewy dragons of Eldar Mythology. No Eldar Aspect Warriors revel more in destruction than those who serve the Shrine of the Fire Dragons. Taking as their totem the fierce, fire-breathing creatures of Eldar legend, they epitomize the brutal, wanton destruction of war. When called to arms their goal is the total annihilation of their foes, to the exclusion of all else. Fire Dragons are aggressive and warlike close combat fighters who utilize heat-based weaponry to destroy enemy armoured vehicles and drive the foe from his fortified strongpoints. They have an unsurpassed mastery of their chosen and highly dangerous weapons, and take savage delight in the devastation they create. For this reason, the Eldar believe that the Fire Dragons are the embodiment of the Eldar War God Kaela Mensha Khaine's penchant for pure destruction. It is said that Fire Dragon Exarchs generate a corona of lambent flame around themselves when the battle lust is upon them. Fire Dragons take an unbridled, savage delight in the destruction they cause, and nothing short of the complete annihilation of the enemy will satisfy these embodiments of war's capacity for wanton destruction. Fire Dragons specialise in assaulting enemy war machines and fixed fortifications, as well as rooting out heavily-armoured infantry and weapon emplacements. In this role each Fire Dragon wields a potent Fusion Gun, capable of reducing an enemy to a cloud of superheated vapour in a second, or a battle tank into a pile of molten slag. Against targets too formidable to be damaged by even these fearsome weapons, the Fire Dragons carry Melta Bombs, disc-shaped fusion-based explosives which can be attached to any surface and detonated on command. However, the short range of their fusion-based weaponry limits the Fire Dragons' effectiveness, especially when speed and tactical flexibility are needed. It is also the reason Fire Dragon Aspect Armour is thicker compared to that of many of the other Aspects, including many spiny protrusions which make it stiffer and more resilient, so that the wearer can properly close with the enemy and deliver death and destruction upon him. Fire Dragon Aspect Armour is painted in fiery colours, such as red or orange.

**Swooping Hawks: **The aerial Aspect Warriors of the Eldar. They wear cunningly constructed anti-gravitic wings that enable them to launch high into the air at a moment's notice. They are able to launch lightning-fast aerial assaults against their foes, cutting them down with the deadly energy weapons known as Lasblasters in a blur of color. The Swooping Hawks take their name from the wild hunting birds of Eldar Mythology, who symbolize revenge and retribution. The Swooping Hawks are among the most mobile of the Eldar Aspect Warriors as a result of their Swooping Hawk Wings, which allow them to lift off into the air at a moment's notice and fly across the battlefield. Their wings are made from vibrating feather plates and incorporate small gravitic lifters. When the Hawks fly, these wings vibrate with such speed they turn into a blur of colour. The speed and agility that this technology provides the Swooping Hawks more than makes up for the fact that their Aspect Armor, compared to that worn by the warriors of the other Aspects, is less thick as a result of their need to keep their weight low and therefore offers less protection from enemy fire. Swooping Hawk Aspect Armor is typically coloured like the sky, a pale shade of blue or grey, with contrasting colors as well, especially on the wings.

**Warp Spiders:** Eldar Aspect Warriors who specialize in the use of a personal teleportation device built into their Aspect Armor to make a series of rapid jumps through the Immaterium that make them nearly impossible to target and allow them to attack the enemy suddenly and disappear before he can strike back. Taking their name from the same creatures who protected the Infinity Circuits of their Craftworlds, the Warp Spiders epitomize the concept of an aggressive defense.Like several of the other Eldar Warrior Aspects there is no known founder, or Phoenix Lord, of the Warp Spider Aspect Shrines, although the lore of the Kaelor Craftworld speaks of the Lhykosidae, the Wraith Spider, who might be a Warp Spiders Phoenix Lord perhaps even the Aspect's Asurya, the first Phoenix Lord. The truth of the matter may not even beknown to the Eldar themselves, lost in the mists of the ancient past. Using a compact Warp Spider Jump Generator housed within the backpack of their Aspect Armor and operating in squads of five to ten warriors which are sometimes lead by an Exarch, these Aspect Warriors can make short Warp-jumps, disappearing into the Immaterium and reappearing into realspace in the blink of an eye. This enables them to make totally unexpected attacks on their foes, though it does necessitate spending a short time unshielded in the Empyrean. Warp Spiders are also regarded as strange and terrifying, the furthest removed from the normal Eldar mindset of all the Warrior Aspects. Warp Spiders also tend to have a bleak outlook on life, and rarely mix with the warriors from the other Aspect Shrines. The ritual armament of the Warp Spider is the Death Spinner; a highly advanced weapon that extrudes a thick cloud of razor-sharp monofilament wire. The Spinner's magnetic containment field then spools the wire together and hurls it toward the enemy. The wire's own tension causes it to writhe and lash, and where it touches flesh or soft tissue, it slices through the victim's body, causing an agonizing and quite messy death.

**Shining Spears: **One of the rarest and most specialised of the Eldar Aspect Warriors. They represent the Spear of Kaela Mensha Khaine, the invincible weapon of the Eldar God of War that struck like lightning and killed any foe with a single blow. Shining Spears can be distinguished from all of the other Eldar Warrior Aspects for they are the only Aspect Warriors to make use of anti-gravity Jetbikes. The identity of the Phoenix Lord of the Shining Spears is not known to Imperial scholars. As with certain other Aspect Shrines, the Shining Spears have no known founder, or Phoenix Lord. They also have only a tiny presence on a few Craftworlds, including the major ones such as Ulthwé, but are regarded as an elite force, glittering exemplars of the warrior way. Shining Spear squads are relatively small, just three to five warriors, a number which sometimes includes an Exarch to lead them. Yet even a small unit of Shining Spears can turn the tide of a protracted battle, for their legendary charges hit home with the force of a thunderbolt. Few enemies can withstand such a devastating charge. Shining Spears ride sleek, gleaming Eldar Jetbikes to war, their vehicles' anti-gravitic motors allowing them to skim over even the roughest terrain at a breakneck pace. Each Aspect Warrior is so in tune with their Jetbike that they can execute complex, high-speed aerial manoeuvers with a single gesture. Even a small unit of Shining Spears can turn the tide of a protracted combat, for their legendary charges hit home with the force of a thunderbolt. Apart from the twin-linked Shuriken Catapults incorporated into their Jetbikes, the ritual armament of the Shining Spears Aspect Warrior is the Laser Lance. This elegant weapon can deliver intense short ranged energy blasts, and is usually used just as the Shining Spears deliver their charge.

**Eagle Pilots: **An Eagle Pilot is an Eldar Aspect Warrior who follows the Warrior Path of the Phoenix Lord Amon Harakht, of whom almost nothing is known. Like their fellow airborne Aspect Warriors, the Swooping Hawks, the Eagle Pilots take exultant pleasure in the arts of aerial combat. These Eldar are superb pilots of any type of Eldar aircraft or spacecraft, but especially excel in the aerial arts of war. Their skill and artistry in flight is nearly unmatched by the combat pilots of any other species, as they take to the skies in their Nightwing interceptors or Phoenix strike aircraft. Eagle Pilots serve as the combat pilots of the Eldar Craftworlds, performing combat air patrols and fulfilling air superiority and ground attack support roles for Eldar military forces in the field. Eagle Pilots possess the ability to fly nearly any aircraft but they primarily fly the Eldar's Nightwing Interceptor and the Phoenix strike combat aircraft. The Nightwing interceptor is the primary fighter aircraft of the Eldar, combining a speed and manouverability that no Imperial fighter aircraft can match, with considerable firepower and the sophisticated energy field protection that is common to Eldar vehicles. The Nightwing is a variable geometry aircraft capable of altering its wing position to shift between subsonic and supersonic speeds. The Eldar Phoenix is a heavily armed strike aircraft that is intended to engage both enemy infantry and armour on the ground, while its sophisticated energy field protects it from enemy fire.

**Shadow Spectres: **The Shadow Spectres are a recently re-discovered Eldar Aspect Warriors who specialise in the deployment of highly-mobile, infantry-based anti-armour firepower who are experts at striking at enemy vehicles from concealment and extreme long-range. Armed with Prism Rifles, each a potent anti-tank weapon, and equipped with Jetpacks, their mobility allows them to hunt down their chosen targets with the implacable patience of the dead, materialising seemingly from the very air to unleash their overwhelming firepower. The Shadow Spectres represent the Eldar God of War Kaela Mensha Khaine in his aspect as the Eternal Warrior, for whom death is no release from duty. Shadow Spectres are equipped and armed with Jetpacks, Holofield emitters, and Prism Rifles, which are infantry versions of the massive Prism Cannons deployed on Eldar Fire Prism grav-tanks. These weapons release highly focused blasts of laser energy that can vaporise the armor of even the heaviest vehicles. The Shadow Spectres use their Jetpacks to remain highly mobile across the battle space and to find the most advantageous terrain from which to strike against enemy armoured vehicles. Additionally, Shadow Spectre Aspect Warriors are capable of combining the power of their Prism Rifles using a sophisticated targeting matrix known as the Ghostlight. The Ghostlight combines each individual shot from a squad of Shadow Spectres into a single searing blast of energy with a greatly magnified range that allows the Aspect Warriors to destroy an enemy's armored support from an unseen location far across the battlefield. Instead of firing their Prism Rifles (or the Exarch's Prism Lance) individually the squad may take a single Ghostlight shot of greatly enhanced power which is particularly useful when used against the most powerful armored targets. The Shadow Spectres are masters of striking at an enemy's heavy armour forces from the unseen, using their Jetpacks, Prism Rifles, Prism Blasters and the Ghostlight targetting matrix to destroy armoured vehicles from far across the battlefield where retaliation is almost impossible because the Shadow Spectres will be long gone before the enemy can return fire to their location. The Shadow Spectres' use of shimmering Holo-fields also makes it very difficult for enemy targetting sensors to get a lock on them even if they can be visually located.

**Exarchs **

An Exarch is a former Eldar Aspect Warrior who has lost him/herself upon the Eldar Path of the Warrior and is unable to ever leave it again. At this point they are considered to have abandoned the Eldar Paths with their promise of new experiences and development of new skills in favor of a constant life of bloodshed. The Eldar becomes the elite warrior called an Exarch; simultaneously, an Exarch is a priest of Kaela Mensha Khaine, the Eldar God of War as well as a caretaker of the individual warrior shrine, and trainer, teacher, and instructor for other Aspect Warriors. The sacrifice of an Eldar Exarch can summon an Avatar of Kaela Mensha Khaine. He is equipped with ancient and powerful Eldar weaponry and armor. Each Eldar Warrior Aspect has its own particular kind of Exarch. On the battlefield, an Exarch commands an individual squad of Eldar Aspect Warriors. Exarchs are formidable opponents, and most of them can use their often potent psychic and combat abilities to help the whole squad of Aspect Warriors under their command. The very first Exarchs were the Phoenix Lords.

Those Eldar that fall down this path are unable to pass beyond the Path of the Warrior and are unable to resist the passionate lure of battle, leading to them developing an unquenchable lust for bloodletting. As such, they become trapped in the path they have chosen and are unable to leave the Aspect of the War God they represent whilst becoming addicted to bloodlust that only battle can satiate. This leads to the Exarchs being met with a mixture of awe and revulsion by their kin. The Eldar respect these individuals due to them dedicating themselves into the single-minded pursuit of a side of their nature which most of their kind fear. However, they are pitied as the Exarchs have, in essence, abandoned the Eldar Path that offers new experiences and constant development. There exists an even greater dread for the Eldar in relation to the Exarchs: the fact that each of them holds the potential of falling down the same ruinous path. Those that take this mantle represent one form of problem with those that walk down the Eldar Paths in the sense that they become obsessed with roles that they are ill-prepared for and thus can never leave it. Thus, the Exarchs and the Harlequins represent the universal peril though, in either case, they still hold a place within their society.

Exarchs remain trapped on the Path of the Warrior, but sometimes continue to cycle from one Aspect to another. During times of war, they can wear one of two or more armoured suits which represent the different Aspects that they have taken. On a similar basis, they can equip themselves with the appropriate weapons that represent these Aspects. Those that succumb to this constant cycle of events are sometimes known as "Menshad Korum" or "Lost Warriors" with the Eldar Lexicon roughly meaning "hunters in pursuit of themselves." However, in the majority of cases, an Exarch will only adopt a single Aspect, though he or she may pass through several different Aspect Warriors before finally becoming trapped in the Warrior Path.[2a] Upon being trapped in their final Warrior Aspect, they demonstrate a great level of battle-skills due to their experience in the other Aspects, making them more skilled compared to ordinary Aspect Warriors. Upon assuming the position of Exarch, these Eldar begin to adopt the ancient names that reflect their respective Aspect. These names are particular to Craftworlds and the specific shrines of the War God within each Craftworld. Only a single Exarch can bear a particular name at any one time which is associated with the armor they wear in battle. Only when killed can that name and armor be taken by another Aspect Warrior whereupon the new bearer takes the mantle of a thousand year legacy where they continue the legendary life of a single heroic identity. When not fighting, these individuals tend to the shrines of Kaela Mensha Khaine which are sites where they, along with Aspect Warriors, gather in times of war and undergo the ritual transformation where they adopt one of the many Warrior Aspects. In these sites, Exarchs not only serve as priests but as armourers as well as instructors to their kin with it falling under their responsibility to maintain the shrine's wargear along with the training of Aspect Warriors.

**Phoenix Lords **

A Phoenix Lord is one of the greatest warriors of the Eldar and the leaders of their particular group of Aspect Warriors. The Phoenix lords are Exarchs so ancient that they have no shrines and no Craftworlds to call home. They wander from world to world, instinctively driven by war, attracted by intuitive power to places of great danger and need. During moments of desperation they appear, sometimes alone but often several together, depending upon the perils faced. Using the Eldar Webway they move from Craftworld to Craftworld and from planet to planet, following in the path of the Bloody-handed God. The Phoenix Lords are immortal, after a fashion. When a Phoenix Lord is slain in battle, his place is taken by another Eldar who assumes his costume and identity. In this way the Phoenix Lord is reborn into a fresh cycle of existence. His suit includes a spirit stone which contains the spirits of all the Eldar who have become that Phoenix Lord. Yet, no matter how many different individuals a Phoenix Lord may have been, his mind is forever the same, driven by the dominant personality of the first and greatest warrior to wear the suit. The names of the Phoenix Lords are well known throughout the Craftworlds, and their deeds form part of the legends of the Eldar. No one knows exactly how many Phoenix Lords there are, for some are seen but rarely, while others disappear for millennia only to reappear suddenly and unexpectedly. Some have undoubtedly perished far away, their suits lying upon some hostile world awaiting discovery by some predestined Aspect Warrior doomed to don the armor and become the ancient hero for another cycle of his existence. Some of the Phoenix Lords are as old as the Fall. They were heroes during the cataclysm, and were the first to bear the spirit stones of the Warrior Aspects.[1a] It is said that Asurmen was the first of the Phoenix Lords and that he trained the first of the Aspect Warriors in the Path of the Warrior. The first Exarchs, known as the Asurya - the children of Asur, founded the shrines of the Warrior Aspects that remain to this day.

It is said that the Phoenix Lords will fight at the Rhana Dandra - the final battle between Chaos and the material universe. Uniquely, the Phoenix Lords are not tied directly to the Imperium. Instead, their loyalty is for the entire Eldar race, who the majority of have sided the Imperium. As such, the Phoenix Lords are welcomed by the Imperium and shown themselves have allies at the most crucial of times.

**Asurmen: **The 'Hand of Asuryan' who founded the first of the Aspect Shrines, the Shrine of Asur, the forerunner of the Dire Avengers Aspect. He was the penultimate warrior of all the Eldar, for his extraordinary powers placed him at the Pinnacle of Might. Prior to the Fall of the Eldar, Asurmen was the Eldar who led the Craftworlds away from the ancient Eldar homeworlds of their now lost interstellar empire and it was he who founded the first of the Aspect Warrior Shrines, the Shrine of Asur, upon a barren world of the same name his people initially settled. Asurmen found that he could not give up the Path of the Warrior to follow a different Eldar Path, for he desired to use his skills to protect what remained of his species after the birth of the Chaos God Slaanesh, "She Who Thirsts." From the Shrine of Asur sprang the first Aspect Warriors, and the Path of the Warrior was opened for the very first time to all Eldar. Asurmen then travelled amongst more of the different Craftworlds than any other member of his race, teaching those Eldar who wanted to learn the Dire Avengers' suite of combat skills. Those Eldar learned at the feet of their master, and in turn they assumed the mantle of Exarchs before spreading throughout the galaxy. The first Exarchs, the Asurya, the children of Asurmen, were the greatest of his students and went on to become the Phoenix Lords of the other Aspect Shrines, the first masters of the other specialised Eldar combat disciplines. It was then that the different Warrior Aspects were formalised within the culture of the Eldar Craftworlds, taking as their model the skills and teachings of their founders.

**Baharroth:** "The Cry of the Wind" is the founder and Phoenix Lord of the Eldar Swooping Hawks Aspect Shrine. He is believed to have been the finest pupil of Asurmen, the first Eldar Exarch. He is the Winged Phoenix, the oldest of the Swooping Hawks and the first of the winged Exarchs. Baharroth was the founder of the Eldar Warrior Path that is represented today by Swooping Hawk Aspect Shrines throughout the Eldar Craftworlds. It is said that he learned the arts of war from Asurmen himself, at the first and greatest Shrine of Asur, when the Fall was still a living memory in the minds of his people. Like all the Phoenix Lords, Baharroth has been reborn many times in the body of a new Exarch. Innumerable battlefields have felt his anger and countless foes have fallen before his might. Baharroth is also known for his speed and is said to be the fastest of all the Eldar who have ever lived, a formidable claim that would make him a deadly opponent indeed. He is a great friend of his fellow Phoenix Lord, Maugan Ra. His wings, like those of the Swooping Hawks, are made of small vibrating plates, which, as they vibrate, provide the wearer with a lifting surface for flight which is maintained by an anti-gravitic emitter incorporated into the wings. It is said that Baharroth will meet his final death fighting alongside his fellow Aspect Warriors at the Rhana Dandra, the final battle between Chaos and the Eldar of the material universe that will end with the destruction of both. Baharroth is known to be an especial foe of the Forces of Chaos and he has participated in many raids on Chaotic outposts and Daemon Worlds. Baharroth's family and much of his home Craftworld, Anaen, was destroyed in a massive Chaos assault led by Trarkh, a known Chaos Lord and Khornate Berserker.

**Fuegan: **"The Burning Lance," is the Eldar Phoenix Lord of the Fire Dragons Aspect Warriors. Fuegan learned the arts of war in the Shrine of Asur, under the eyes of Asurmen in that distant time, millennia ago, when the Warrior Aspects were first born. Fuegan founded the first Aspect Shrine of the Fire Dragons, and schooled the first Aspect Warriors of the shrine in the art of war with fire and flame. He was thought lost when the Shrine of Asur was destroyed by Arhra, the Fallen Phoenix. Fuegan disappeared for many centuries, before reappearing during the final battle at Haranshemash, "The World of Blood and Tears" in the Eldar Lexicon, to fight alongside the Eldar. After that conflict Fuegan vanished into the Webway, and has travelled its secret, labyrinthine passageways ever since, tracking down the enemies of his ancient forebears. In 999.M41 he was seen during the Medusa V campaign leading a retinue of Fire Dragon Exarchs in engaging the Ork forces. The eventual fate of Fuegan is foretold in the last stanza of the Asuryata, the legend of the Phoenix Lords, known in full only to the Bards of Twilight. This passage says that it will be Fuegan who calls all of the Eldar Phoenix Lords for the Last Battle, the Rhana Dandra, and he will be the last to die in that conflict, which will result in the final death of the Eldar race and their Gods alike as the price for the elimination of Chaos within the Immaterium.

**Irillyth: **The "Shade of Twilight," is the Eldar Phoenix Lord of the long-extinct Shadow Spectres Aspect Warriors. Lost for millennia, the Shadow Spectres were long forgotten and Irillyth's Aspect Shrines were abandoned. During the Betalis III Campaign in 894.M41, the Shadow Spectres of the Mymeara Craftworld returned from the mists of legend and managed to recover the armor of Irillyth, giving the Eldar new hope that other portions of their lost patrimony and culture might one day be recovered. rillyth was once one of these disciples of Asurmen, and became the founder of the Shrine of the Shadow Spectres Aspect on the Mymeara Craftworld. The Eldar mythic cycles speak of a time when, during his training under Asurmen, Irillyth was gifted with a terrible vision. In it he saw the destruction of the Mymearan Craftworld at the hands of an intelligent alien race that was, even then, still in its infancy. Still reeling from the near-destruction of the Eldar race during the Fall, Irillyth vowed not to allow any more of his kind to be wiped out, and he set out to find the threatened Craftworld and prepare it for the battles that lay ahead of them. Searching the pathways of the Webway for decades for his lost brethren, he imparted his skills to other Craftworlds as he travelled, but the location of Mymeara continued to remain elusive. During this time, the legends of the Phoenix Lords also tell of the many great battles Irillyth fought against the creatures of Slaanesh that had infiltrated the great Eldar Labyrinthine Dimension. Whilst exploring a particular region of the Webway that he had never come across before in his travels, Irillyth was confronted by a Greater Daemon of Slaanesh who had broken through from the Warp and had set about opening up sealed portals for its brethren to flood through into the Webway. Irillyth battled the Greater Daemon even as its infernal followers poured through the breach, searing away yet more of the protective Eldar runes from the bindings on the portals. It is unknown how long this battle lasted, but eventually Irillyth proved to be victorious and cast the terrible creature and its fell minions back from whence they came. The legends go on to tell that, exhausted by his titanic struggle, the Phoenix Lord fell into a long sleep, during which he was to be gifted with the knowledge of Mymeara's location. Once he awoke, Irillyth found the portal that led to Mymeara and set about training its warriors in his ways of war, namely stealth, swiftness and all-consuming firepower. Eventually the day came when the Phoenix Lord spoke to Mymeara's Council of Seers to reveal his true purpose for coming to their Craftworld. He spoke of his original vision and of the terrible fate that awaited the people of Mymeara, but he provided the frightened Eldar the hope of preventing such a terrible outcome if he launched a preemptive assault upon their enemy before they became unstoppable.

The Mymearan Council of Seers bowed to the Phoenix Lord's wisdom, allowing Irillyth to take with him a great war host composed of nearly half of the Craftworld's warriors. With a heavy heart, Irillyth left that day using the very same Webway portal he had arrived from, for since he had reached Mymeara his vision of the Craftworld's future had altered. He knew now that Mymeara would survive with his help, but at the cost of his own life and the lives of all those who came with him on his quest to find Mymeara's nemesis. What lay beyond the point of his own death was unknown, but Irrilyth feared that to lose so many of their own would still bring about Mymeara's eventual demise. Those left behind on the Craftworld waited for word of the Phoenix Lord and their war host's victory, but none came. After many Terran decades had passed, the Mymearans had to accept that their brethren had undoubtedly been killed and that the Phoenix Lord had fallen. In truth, Irillyth had succeeded in destroying the threat to the Craftworld, but had been struck down during the fierce fighting on that reptilian enemy race's homeworld, a place known in Eldar legend as Bethalmae, or later to the Imperium of Man as the Mining World of Betalis III. There, the Phoenix Lord remained unrecovered, the cave where his body and precious war panoply lay was slowly covered beneath centuries of glacially-deposited rocks as the planet's global Ice Age advanced. But the Phoenix Lord was not truly dead, for like all Phoenix Lords, Irillyth was immortal. He was no single warrior, but a psychic gestalt collective of those individual Exarchs that had become him over the centuries, their souls held within the Spirit Stones that adorned his armour and wargear. And so, Irillyth remained trapped within the cave, his spirit awaiting the day he would be rediscovered and the Shade of Twilight could be reborn to serve the Eldar race once more.

With the loss of the Phoenix Lord, Irillyth's disciples and Shadow Spectre Aspect Shrines began to wane on other Craftworlds, as one-by-one their shrines' Exarchs died in battle. Soon the Shadow Spectre Aspect Shrines were deserted, becoming dark, haunted places in the Craftworlds shunned by most Eldar. To them it was just another part of their culture lost in the continuing downfall of their race. Eventually, the Shadow Spectres Aspect became extinct on all of the known Craftworlds or so it was thought by the Eldar, who did not known that a small number of Shadow Spectres had remained active on long-hidden Mymeara. The discovery of the location of Bethalmae in the late 41st Millennium, known to the Imperium as Betalis III, meant that Irillyth's armour could finally be recovered. Bel-Annath, a Farseer of the Mymeara Craftworld, led a mission to re-animate the spirit host of the Phoenix Lord, and succeeded. The Eldars' reward at the Battle of Dawning Twilight, as the Betalis III Campaign is known to them, was the restoration of Irillyth, the Phoenix Lord of the Shadow Spectres, who was reborn into the service of his people, his destiny having come full circle.

**Karandras: **"The Shadow Hunter," is the Eldar Phoenix Lord of the Striking Scorpions Aspect Warriors. Legends of Karandras the Shadow Hunter tell of one of the most mysterious of all the Phoenix Lords. No one knows where he originally came from or where his shrine originally lay, but perhaps it was on one of the small Craftworlds which survived the Fall but was destroyed soon after. The Eldar mythic cycles tell of the legend of Karandras, "the Shadow Hunter," the mysterious Phoenix Lord of the Striking Scorpions Aspect. No one knows his origins or where he came from, for he was not the oldest or the most skilled of the Exarchs of the Striking Scorpions when he rose to become the Aspect's new master. It is said that this singular honour belongs to the one that came before him, Arhra, the "Father of Scorpions," the most sinister of all the Phoenix Lords. Arhra was lured to darkness and betrayed Asurmen and the other Asurya, the first Phoenix Lords, by bringing daemons into the First Shrine to wage war upon his fellows. Those loyal to Asurmen were defeated and scattered across the stars, but Arhra himself would eventually flee into the Webway, becoming "the Fallen Phoenix who burns with the dark light of Chaos." Whether he lives is still unknown, but many Eldar have their suspicions that after he began walking thePath of Damnation, Arhra fled to the Dark City of Commorragh where he became the first Dark Eldar Incubus Hierarch and founded the first Incubus shrine. Many Eldar believe that Arhra survived into the present and become Drazhar, the Master of Blades, the greatest champion of the Dark Eldar Incubi. It is also believed that Karandras was a Striking Scorpions Exarch, and the greatest student of Arhra, who took over control of the Aspect Shrine after the corruption of its Phoenix Lord. Karandras taught the Striking Scorpions the patience and discipline they needed so that they would not follow in their founder's wake and lose their immortal souls to Slaanesh, "She Who Thirsts," when their bloodlust and murderous desires overtook them. Karandras was last seen duelling for Drazhar for 17 standard days in 928.M41 amongst the shattered ruins of the ancient Eldar world of Zandros. The outcome of this epic confrontation is not currently known.

**Maugan Ra: "**The Harvester of Souls", is the founder and Phoenix Lord of the Eldar's Dark Reaper Aspect Warriors. When Asurmen first taught his brethren the arts of war and trained the first Phoenix Lords in the days immediately after the Fall, it was Maugan Ra that fell furthest from the fold. He fashioned baroque weapons of occult nature; not the blades of his brethren but dark and malefic artefacts that could slay his foes from afar. As his craft progressed, Maugan Ra learnt that even the mightiest weapon could be wielded with surgical precision. This led to the creation of the deadly Maugetar, the Harvester, a potent Shuriken Cannon fitted with an in-built Executioner Power Weapon and later to the disciplines of the Dark Reaper Aspect itself. On the planet of Stormvald in the Segmentum Tempestus, Maugan-Ra stood alone against a Tyranid swarm from Hive Fleet Leviathan and single-handedly triumphed over the horde of savage alien creatures. During the 13th Black Crusade in 999.M41, Maugan Ra came to the aid of an Imperial strike force deployed against the Forces of Chaos. It is known that during this time, Maugan Ra was successful in finding and rescuing his long-lost home Craftworld, guiding Altansar out of the Eye of Terror and denying Abaddon the Despoiler his ultimate victory over the Imperium of Man. Unfortunately, many of the Imperium view the survivors of Altansar with suspicion after they were lost in the Eye of Terror for millennia, for they believe that no Eldar could remain untouched by the temptations of Chaos for so long.

**Jain Zar:** "The Storm of Silence," is the Phoenix Lord and founder of the Eldar's Howling Banshees Aspect Warriors. In the time after the Fall of the Eldar, she was the first warrior of her race chosen to serve at the side of the first Phoenix Lord, Asurmen, and the first to become an Exarch, those Eldar who can never leave the Path of the Warrior for they can never take off the war mask of Khaine. Jain Zar travelled the Webway after her time with Asurmen, teaching her skills to the rest of the Eldar, and leading others along the Warrior Path. Soon there were shrines to the Howling Banshees on all the large Craftworlds, and many Howling Banshees Exarchs to teach the warrior skills of Jain Zar to future generations. Of all the Phoenix Lords, Jain Zar is the most devoted to the shrines of the Warrior Aspects throughout the Craftworlds. She travels the Webway, visiting the shrines and nurturing her spiritual descendants. An acrobat at heart like the Harlequin, Jain Zar (which translates into Low Gothic from the Eldar Lexicon as "The Storm of Silence") is the fastest of all the Phoenix Lords save for Baharroth, the Phoenix Lord of the Swooping Hawks. Jain Zar She still travels the labyrinthine corridors of the Webway, spreading her particular martial knowledge to all but the most remote of the Eldar Craftworlds. As such, she is the Phoenix Lord who has been seen most often by the imperium. Although she is known to disappear for entire standard centuries at a time, she always returns, and the shrines of the Howling Banshees maintain a constant vigil in preparation for her coming. In the late 41st Millennium, Jain Zar ran afoul of the Chaos Space Marine Talos Valcoran, the commander of the 1st Claw of the 10th Company of the Night Lords Traitor Legion. When that warband of Night Lords laid waste to the Imperial colonists of the world of Tsagualsa in the Eastern Fringe, they were ambushed by an Imperial strike force looking to again kill the Soul Hunter before he could become a threat to their race. In the ensuing battle, nearly every member of Talos' warband was slain and he himself became embroiled in a desperate single battle against the Phoenix Lord Jain Zar who had led the Ulthwe Aspect Warriors. Talos allowed himself to take the Phoenix Lord's spear through his chest, and then detonated a grenade to kill them both. However the blast stopped short of killing the Phoenix Lord, whose crippled body was finished off by the Night Lords' Chaos Dreadnought Malcharion. Jain Zar's armour was recovered by the Imperium, and the Phoenix Lord will eventually return when a new Exarch is chosen to take up the burden of the Storm of Silence.

**Amon Karakht: **A term in the Eldar Lexicon that literally translates into Low Gothic as "fighter pilot." Little else is known about this Phoenix Lord other than that he founded the Eagle Pilots Aspect.

**AN: Well, here's something to tide you guys over for some time while I start planning for what's next. Hope you enjoyed it. If anyone wants to suggest a battle that they liked to see, I'm open to suggestions.**


	9. Notice: New Direction?

**Hey, what's up people. I know I haven't been around for a while. I've been busy with work and earning money for when I return to college in a couple weeks. **

**For why I'm reappearing all of a sudden, is because of an idea that spawned from a conversation with ****Deathwatch Razgriz, who wished to The Divergent Empire become a story. I agreed to look into the matter and as I did the thought of another possibility came to me.**

**In the Divergent Empire, I had Eldrad gets a vision of the future where he meets Fulgrim and decides to wait until the end of the Heresy before contacting the Emperor of Mankind. What I was thinking, what if the very beginning of the Heresy happens differently? What if the Emperor sides with the Thousands Sons and Magnus in the use of psychic powers and makes concessions for the Thousands Sons despite the resistance. **

**Magnus, pleased but also worried, starts to divine into the future to try and see what will happen now. As he does, he finds the future of the Horus Heresy but he also senses the he is not alone and finds Eldrad viewing the same thing. Eldrad, who is optimistic about humanity, tells Magnus that will happen if Horus falls at Davin. The two trade information back and forth until Magnus agrees to monitor Horus. At the same time, he sends word to Alpharius, relying all that has occurred so far. Alpharius, having already been approached by the Cabal, relays what he (and Omegon) learned from the Acuity. When Horus is struck down on Davin, Magus intervenes, discovering that it is an entity from the warp attempting to possess his brother. Magnus is able to banish the creature and tell Horus all that he has discovered. **

**While this is happening, Dorn is meeting with Curze about his brutal tactics. Curze goes to leave when he receives a dire vision of the future and the treachery in which Dorn would take part in. Curze comes out of his vision and attacks Rogal Dorn in a desperate attempt to prevent the future he had seen. **

**When Horus is snatched from their grasp, the Ruinous Powers had moved to groom another for the role of Arch-Betrayer. Rogal Dorn was chosen for his potential to bring the entire Imperium crashing down. They preyed upon and magnified his feelings of jealousy at being passed over as Warmaster, and then being withdrawn to Terra while his brothers were carving a reputation across the galaxy. They also magnify his doubt at the Emperor's judgment for allowing the Thousand Sons to continue their pursuit of knowledge of the warp. Dorn knows of Curze's visions and rightfully believes this is what prompted his brother to attack him. Dorn then seeks to drown out these shameful doubts in the scourge of the Pain-Glove. As the pressure increased, he spent longer and longer in the device, until eventually it unhinged his mind, and he was claimed by the Pantheon of Chaos. He was not beholden to one, but to the glory of Chaos Undivided.**

**This is my basic outline people. Outside this premise, I also plan to write this as a story, with dialogue, fighting and everything. The nature of the Heresy shall change and so shall the present state of the 40k. **

**What really motivates me to do this is that I want to pave something new into Warhammer but still make it a dark, grim time. I want certain Primarchs and Legions to survive while others fall. But most importantly, I want to give people something new that they can enjoy. **

**So I ask of you all now, what do you think? I'm taking all criticisms and questions. (Naturally I can't answer everything without giving certain surprises away). Tell me what you all think. Be honest, please. **


End file.
